Shine!
by Hebi-Kazechi-10
Summary: Shining World Academy was a prestigious school with three kinds of students: idols, stylists and composers. Only the top 0.5% made it. Quan Nguyen was grateful to be accepted as a stylist, however he knows that with a cheerful Spanish idol and a shy Canadian composer, anything can happen. Inspired by Uta no Prince-Sama. Nyotalia and 2P included. Eventual Nyo!Vietnam x Spain.
1. Shining World Academy

**Hey there! Hebi-Kazechi-10, and here with a Hetalia fic! 8D**

**Loosely inspired by Uta Prince no Sama, however there are a _lot _of differences to it. This will also be a multi-chapter, so this may take a lot of my time to write up: so I apologize to all those who follow me for SeiMako fics - I still love them to bits, and will definitely try to make some stories with them, but I want to put priority to this because I've been planning it for a while. XD**

**WARNING: **Human AU, crack pairings shipped seriously (which will include shonen-ai/boy x boy ones), swearing, sexual references.

**DISCLAIMER: **I pretty much own _nothing _but this story. XD

**Hope you enjoy! :)**

**[Music Recommendation: Aim to Win - Tekken Tag Tournament 2]**

* * *

Everything was such a bright blur of colours.

A pair of golden eyes blinked as they gazed around in slight bewilderment of the setting surrounding them.

Indeed, not used to such a grandeur place: first a huge building made of bricks and consisting of several stories, as well as what appeared to be some sort of complex at the back. The fountain outside was however, funnily enough, had a stone alpaca at the top with its head raised up in the air where the shots of water were surging out from its mouth. There were many beds of flowers around the exterior of the building. The golden eyes could make out several kinds – primarily roses and daisies, however he could make out some trees that had cherry blossoms in them.

The strange arrangement of flowers and the sheer vibrancy of the colours were rather blinding and odd.

Coming inside the building itself, saw that the walls were beige, while the floors were of red carpet. Looking before them, the eyes saw a secretary that was hurriedly taking calls on multiple phones, and scribbling things down on a piece of paper.

"Yes! Okay, that's good! You're almost there; just go around the corner from the 80's Diner! Oh no! You missed the train?! Don't worry! You can catch another one from Rarity Street! I'm so very sorry, but headmaster Vargas isn't available at the moment!"

The dark eyebrows that accompanied the golden eyes furrowed down to a slight scowl at the overworked state of the secretary before them, while at the same time, taking a better look as the poor woman hadn't noticed the other presence.

The woman appeared to be in her mid-twenties: possibly a bit older than that. She had rather short, platinum blonde hair, however the boyishness that the style would've initially exuded, were negated by the white headband and clip. Glancing downwards, the woman had a rather well-endowed figure; despite wearing rather conservative clothing that consisted of a white long-sleeve shirt and dark trousers, she had a rather noticeable bust size.

'_Well, it's no wonder…everyone here would be expected to be model material, I suppose…'_

It was when this lady's baby blues were starting to get teary from how more panicked she was becoming, and her voice getting higher and higher in pitch due to franticness (which the ears that came with the golden eyes recognized as a thick Ukrainian one) was when the stranger with the golden eyes made his presence known. Clearing his throat for three times, the woman _finally _realized that she wasn't alone in the building.

Her sky blue orbs widened as she became face-to-face with what appeared to be a slightly tall and young Asian man with a dark hair, golden eyes, and a serious expression on his face. He was wearing a simple, pale blue shirt, and had a simple shoulder bag in his grip. Interestingly, he had what appeared to be a straw hat that was dangling on a black thread from behind his nape.

When the woman didn't say something, the golden-eyed Asian became gradually apprehensive. A minute or two or possibly more later and she still said nothing, he was about to try and start a conversation, when she suddenly cried.

"I'm so sorry! So very sorry!" the poor woman was seriously tearing up now, and drops were gathering at the corner of her eyes. "I didn't mean to keep you waiting!"

"W-what…? N-no, you didn't keep me waiting!" he exclaimed as he raised his hands to hurriedly try and calm her down; he really didn't like causing a huge fuss. "Not at all! I was only wondering about the Opening Day, that's all. I'm just wondering if I'm here in time, that's all, really!"

Hearing this, the once sobbing secretary seemed to calm down, "You were accepted?" Immediately wiping her eyes, she beamed bravely at him, "Well, it's nice to see new idols come into our school!"

"A-Actually…" the young man felt his face catch fire at being called that. "No, I'm not an idol; I tried out, and was accepted for the stylist scholarship…"

"Oh?" here, the woman looked utterly confused. She gazed at him up and down, causing the Asian to stiffen. "Really? I thought-"

"You thought _what_?" he asked, though coming out a bit edgier and colder than what he wanted. "I am _not _an idol."

"Ack! I'm sorry to offend you or get you angry!" and before he knew it, the poor thing was starting to come to tears again. "I'm really, really sorry! Please don't let the stupid things I say make you regret your decision of coming here!"

"No, it was my fault, please stop crying," the dark-haired young man said, panicked again. "_I'm _sorry for making you cry; I didn't mean to come off as a jerk. But, please – I'd like to know if anybody else is here for the stylist course besides just me: since we start a little later than the idols."

"A-Ah, I see," the blue-eyed woman took a deep breath before shaking her head. "No, so far you're the first one here."

"Oh…" hearing this, he felt his face go alight again before rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I see…"

"But that's very good!" the busty secretary reassured. "Some of the idols here get _really _impatient with their stylists and composers, so it's great that you're not tardy!"

"Trust me, I do not like tardiness," the Asian affirmed. "I'd rather do things earlier than later, and get them over and done with."

"With that attitude, you'll go far as a stylist!" she smiled, causing the corners of his thin lips to twitch upwards. "May I ask what you name is?"

"Quan," the golden-eyed man responded politely. "Quan Nguyen."

"Hello there, Quan, I am Katyusha Braginskaya," she greeted warmly. "I am the head secretary of the Shining World Academy! If you have any questions or your mentor is unavailable, you can come to me."

Quan arched an eyebrow, "Mentor?"

Katyusha nodded, "Yes; two idols each have a mentor here, but stylists and composers have one mentor per group."

"And just how many is in each group?" it was the first time that Quan had truly heard about this. When he gained admission to the prestigious academy, he was only aware of his classes, and that there were other lucky ones who were admitted. It was also brought to light that there were two other types of students besides the stylists: idols and composers.

The forum that he was looking at online in regards to the institution for any more information, he saw that a lot of people sounded either envious or zealous in regards to the students going there, no matter what course they were after. There were others who spoke of a golden card that was needed to purchase items at the college such as cafeteria food and products from the university's in-built store. One that interested Quan in particular was that of classes – there were three classes: B, A and S: from what he saw in his letter of acceptance with the scholarship, he was going to be an S-class stylist.

"Well, one mentor will advise a group of four student stylists," explained Katyusha. "Two idols each have one mentor, while mentors for composers will have a class of them."

"I see," Quan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So the idols are given more importance, obviously."

Katyusha gave a weak shrug, "Obviously."

"H-hello?"

It was barely above a whisper, but both Quan and Katyusha had heard that soft voice. Turning to the source, they saw that the voice belonged to a pale-skinned girl with her blonde hair tied into two pigtails with a pair of white ribbons, and there were two clips in the shape of maple leaves on her bangs. Her violet eyes were lowered to the ground from behind a pair of clear glasses. She was wearing a red overcoat and a smart-looking blue dress underneath, as well as a pair of boots, and a satchel slung over her shoulder. Funny enough, there was what appeared to be a polar bear plushie with a pink flower on its head.

"Hello," Katyusha greeted with a welcoming smile. "What can I do for you? Are you a new student, too?"

"Um…" the pig-tailed blonde cleared her throat. "Y-yes, I am."

"What are you?" questioned Quan. Seeing her falter slightly, he realized how blunt he sounded, to which he apologized quickly, "Sorry…what I meant was: what course are you doing?"

"Oh…" the bespectacled blonde said. "I'm a composer."

"Composer, huh?" Quan lifted his head in acknowledgement before nodding, genuinely fascinated. "Impressive. What's your name?"

"Madeleine," the girl said with a smile now forming on her soft face. "I'm Madeleine Williams. You?"

"Quan," the Asian responded as he took her hand to shake it. "I'm Quan Nguyen."

"Vietnamese?"

Quan quirked an eyebrow, "Obvious, isn't it? Just from my surname?" seeing her look unsure of what to say (most likely she seemed afraid in offending him), he spoke up, "Don't worry; you didn't offend me – I was simply fooling around. I apologize. Are there any other questions you want to ask?"

"Well, how about you?" questioned Madeleine. "What course are you doing?"

"Stylist."

"Ahhh," Madeleine nodded herself, giving a weak smile. "That sounds nice."

"Not as impressive as being a composer, but well, it's what I want. And if it also pays for my bills and apartment," Quan shrugged. "It'll hopefully be worth it."

Madeleine couldn't help but flush a little in pleasure at the compliment he gave her. She then spoke up after recalling his words, "You live by yourself?"

However, Quan shook his head, "No, I have two younger siblings living with me." Before she could ask, he spoke up quickly to save her questioning, "Younger brother and younger sister. Brother is fourteen, sister is eight."

"Oh, really?" Madeleine smiled fondly, but then it faded a bit after she realized that he made no mention of parents, which made her rather curious. "How old-"

"Hello?" another voice suddenly called out. However, this one was younger and belonged to a younger boy. "Am I late for the opening ceremony?"

"No, you're not," smiled Katyusha from her spot as she beckoned to the newcomer. Likewise, Quan and Madeleine turned around to see who spoke up.

The one who the voice belonged to appeared to be a boy that was younger than the both of them. He had tousled, silver hair, and violet eyes that were looking straight at them. He was also wearing what appeared to be a simple brown jacket over a white shirt and dark jeans. Funny enough, there was a black and white puffin wearing a pink bow-tie perched on his shoulder that looked at them all curiously.

Seeing the two others close to the secretary's desk, the boy came closer, his eyes lowered a bit to the floor.

"We won't bite, dear," Katyusha said encouragingly. "What is your name?"

"Emil," he responded quietly in a noticeable accent. However, Quan wasn't sure just what country to pin it at – sounded European, that was for sure. "Emil Steilsson. I'm here for the composer's course."

"Just like you, Madeleine," Quan noted thoughtfully. Madeleine pushed her glasses up her nose as she fidgeted her foot, choosing to remain silent.

"You're…not a composer?" questioned Emil as he gave a sideways glance at Quan.

"Stylist," the dark-haired, young man responded.

"Oh…"

Catching sight of the purple eyes staring at him, Quan's own golden hues flashed suspiciously as he asked coldly, "Why? What are you staring at?"

Taken aback at the older male's tone, Emil felt his ears heat up, as he quickly shook his head, "Nothing! I wasn't staring at anything; it wasn't meant to sound offensive or anything!"

"_Ciao_," a new voice grumbled in a thick Italian accent. "Great…so just bastards here, then?" he had olive skin, dark brown hair, and amber eyes that glared at them from behind a pair of dark sunglasses. He seemed far from amused. He was wearing a dark jacket with a light beige fur collar where the hood was up, and a yellow shirt underneath with dark graffiti patterns on it, as well as some ripped looking jeans with black boots. He gave a snort as he adjusted his hold on a vinyl bag. "_Lovely_…"

"There is one girl with us besides the secretary," Quan said calmly to provide Madeleine some saving grace seeing her shrink back a little. He then gestured to the pigtailed blonde, "Right here."

"A-Ah!" the Italian's eyes unexpectedly widened. Then all of a sudden, he spoke up in a more apologetic tone, "_Mi dispiace_, _signorina_! I didn't see you there."

"Of course you didn't," Madeleine mumbled in a surprisingly bitter tone that shocked Quan. Emil stared at her in slight nervousness, while his puffin tilted its head.

The Italian however came closer to stand right by the bespectacled blonde. "What is your name, _signorina_?" he questioned.

"Madeleine," she responded after some thought. "I doubt you'll remember it, though," she added in a murmuring afterthought.

Quan simply said nothing.

"Madeleine, huh?" Lovino gave a slow nod as he rubbed his chin. "Beautiful name you have, _bella_."

This wasn't the reaction that Madeleine seemed to be expecting – her pale face broke out into a rosy red as she hid her face behind the polar bear plushie that she was holding.

"Your name?" inquired Katyusha as she typed some more on the computer; probably a role-call, in Quan's opinion.

"Lovino," the Italian responded as he this time placed his sunglasses up on his head. "Here for the stylist course."

"I feel sorry for you," Madeleine whispered in Quan's direction. The golden-eyed boy simply half-shrugged a shoulder.

"Are we all gathering here, then? Cool!" a new voice spoke up. This time, the speaker was a young man about the same age as Quan – possibly a year younger, maybe. He had strawberry blonde hair, and crimson eyes that sparkled. He was wearing a long, black trench-coat, boots and a little top hat perched on his head. When he grinned at them, it was revealed that he had very prominent canines that were glistening right at them.

"Chigi! What the hell's with your teeth?" Lovino stepped back.

"What? I can't help my teeth growing like this!" said the figure, who looked a bit offended. "You can't help your permanent teeth growing out!"

"Name? What's your name?" asked Katyusha to prevent an argument. "I'm taking everyone's names down to ensure your place here!"

"Oh," the red-eyed stranger then gave a bow as he swept his little top hat off. "Dracul Dalca at your service! Here to partake in the stylist's course, of course!"

"_You_? A stylist?" Lovino arched his eyebrow.

"Yeah, why? I mean, people say I _do _have style," grinned Dracul.

"If that was meant to be a punny joke, you suck," sniffed Lovino in disapproval.

Quan was unsure how much longer it took, but by the time that all the stylists and composers came, it was, according to the clock, an hour that passed by when Ms Katyusha spoke up, clapping her hands, "Alright, everyone! Follow me to the centre stage where everyone will finally come to the opening ceremony and see the idols students!"

One of the girls looked rather giddy, "I can't wait!" likewise, her friends with her (though to whether they just befriended there and then, was unsure to Quan) squealed in delight and excitement.

This naturally caused Quan to roll his eyes. Seeing that reaction, Madeleine gave a little giggle while Dracul snickered.

All the stylists and composers followed Katyusha down a great, golden brown corridor with many off lights. The curtains were pulled back, revealing a grand park-like backyard with more varieties of flowers growing around and dotting the bushes and hedges. Benches were seen around the lovely natural setting. In the distance, there was a fountain that looked exactly like the one that Quan saw outside at the front of the building – with an alpaca spewing water as well, and appeared to be made from white marble.

Going past the corridor and looking around more in awe at how beautiful the area was, Katyusha finally reached a pair of dark doors with a golden insignia marked on them. The insignia was that of a mike and three stars. When Katyusha lightly pushed the two doors open, everyone stared in we s they were greeted by myriads of bright lights of different colours.

There was a long pathway made of red carpet, and it led to a huge concert stage with what appeared to be a massive screen at the back that reflected what was happening right at the centre.

And there, at the centre were a large group of students gazing curiously at the groups still outside.

With them was a man.

A man that appeared to be in his mid to high thirties, at the very most, his low forties. He had very messy dark brown hair with several wild curls that sprang out from them, and he was sporting sunglasses. He was also wearing a pair of maroon pants, black dress shoes and a white polo shirt with a maroon tie that was hanging around his shoulders, while he was holding his suit's jacket over it. Upon seeing the doors open, a wide smile spread out on the man's face, "Ahh~! There you are, Katyusha!"

Katyusha nodded with a shy smile spread on her face, "Yes, they're all here now, Mr Vargas."

'_Vargas?'_ Quan tilted his head, but blinked upon remembering where he heard that name before. "The headmaster," he murmured as they all started walking towards the stage.

"_He's _the headmaster?" asked Emil with widened violet eyes.

"Mr Romulus Vargas," spoke up Madeleine. "He's the one who founded and opened this school." Upon seeing her new companions gaze at her with interest, the bespectacled blonde continued, "He was able to gain the money to open this school upon his single _'Living on Love'_ – it was an _instant _hit; gaining double platinum in the first week alone."

"So…he's an idol, then?" questioned Dracul.

"_Was _an idol," this time, it was Lovino who spoke up. His eyes narrowed as he pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. "The guy was an idol back in his younger days, but now he's more content in _training _idols and has been interested in accepting composers and stylists, now."

"You've done your research," noted Dracul giving a grin. "Impressive!"

"Indeed," agreed Emil with a nod.

"Oh, shut up, you bastards," snapped Lovino, though the redness of his cheeks were undeniable.

Quan wasn't paying attention to their pieces of facts, however. His eyes were only focused onto the stage, and soon, all the noises around him progressively died out to a much fuzzier rendition. His stomach began to twist over in knots, though he forced himself to relax his once tense body. The lights were glaring down at all of them, showering them in the spotlight, and followed their every move. Still, despite feeling the multiple pairs of eyes that were fixing on them, the Vietnamese boy didn't pay anyone any heed, but soon placed his attention onto the principal himself.

"Welcome!" headmaster Vargas laughed in a booming voice as he suddenly came forward from the other group of students he was with, and before Quan knew it, he was suddenly picked up from the ground as he was crushed into a bone-crushing bear hug.

Quan gasped for breath while Madeleine gasped, Emil took a step back, Lovino flinched, and Dracul simply gave a loud, _"Ooh…"_ in surprise. The poor golden-eyed Asian on the other hand could feel the life squeeze out of him as the man hugged him tight. _'Why is he even hugging me?'_ he wondered to himself.

Once he placed him down, Quan coughed while he heard some snickers coming from the other students. Looking up, he gave a silent glare that caused most of them to shut up.

Nonetheless, Mr Vargas called; it was then that Quan realized that the man had an Italian accent, as he tried to listen. "Our stylists and composers are finally here~!" he twirled around as he shouted grandly into a microphone that seemed to have appeared from out of nowhere, "Welcome to Shining World Academy! I'm your headmaster and principal, Romulus Vargas! This prestigious school is only for the best of the best who truly _want _to work in the media or fashion industry!" he then placed a hand on his hip, "Only point five percent of you who took this test overall could make it here! However, don't expect that to be the _only _test! To be an icon for the music or fashion industry, or even be want to be worked with by some of the best names out there in such a field, you must work, and work to the bone!"

Honestly, though Quan tried to pay attention to what the overly hyped principal was going on about, however most of it was what he read before on the forums, and heard of while he was discussing with the group of people he met with. It was during then that he noticed two of the idol students were chuckling and snickering to each other – one with white hair, the other blonde. The blonde was even nudging a third one – a brunette – that was rubbing his arm and looking somewhat uneasy.

The uneasy-looking brunette seemed to notice that a pair of golden eyes had settled upon him, which caused him to gaze up curiously. A pair of shining emeralds blinked innocently at the colder pair of gold orbs. The reaction that Quan gained however was _not _what he expected at all.

He smiled.

The green-eyed, brunette idol student _smiled_ with perfect, pearly-white teeth straight at him.

Naturally, this surprised Quan, however he simply blinked to express that confusion, rather than show it visibly on his face. Arching a pencil-thin eyebrow, he turned his attention back to the principal who finally spoke of something that he was not aware of.

"You will each receive your golden academy card while you are assigned to your groups!"

"At the same time? How come?" questioned a person from the back of Quan's group.

"Because your golden academy cards are also your ID's! Electronic ID's that have all of your data: from your name, year and course, right down to your group members and credit points!" responded Headmaster Vargas as he grinned. "Now, these groups that you're assigned to will be made of one stylist, one composer, and finally one idol!" he placed his fingers up in emphasis. "You will remain in these groups for the rest of your school life, however at the beginning and the end of the school years, you are permitted to swap or change groups, but that depends on the circumstances! As a result, some circumstances such as a student dropping out from the academy may have the remaining group placed into another group! Now, Ms Katyusha…" he then snapped his fingers.

The lights suddenly began flying around in a crazy fashion that made Quan's eyes start to water a bit. Eventually, they all settled to centre stage where there seemed to be a lottery machine with a huge number of stacks of golden cards inside of it. They were glinting cheekily right at everyone who simply marvelled at the sight of it. Ms Katyusha the secretary had pressed a button, and the card stacks began flying around in a pattern that reminded Quan of a flock of birds flying in a circular motion.

Suddenly, the machine stopped, and a stack of cards popped out from a slot – revealing that there were three in a stack. Mr Vargas took the cards and after peering at it, called out loud, "Emil Steilsson, Mitchell Mancham and Dracul Dalca! Our lucky first!"

The screen behind the overly excited headmaster focused on the card, so that it revealed a shot of Emil and Dracul's faces, as well as another boy. Their pieces of information was also shown.

'_**Name: Emil Steilsson**__,'_ one card read. _'__**Age: 15. Course: Composer. Credit Points: 0. Idol: Mitchell Mancham. Stylist: Dracul Dalca.'**_

'_**Name: Dracul Dalca,'**_another read. _**'Age: 17. Course: Stylist. Credit Points: 0. Composer: Emil Steilsson. Idol: Mitchell Mancham.'**_

'_**Name: Mitchell Mancham,' **_the last one read. _'__**Age: 15. Course: Idol. Credit Points: 0. Stylist: Dracul Dalca. Composer: Emil Steilsson.'**_

"Hey, we're working together!" Dracul beamed as he playfully shook the younger boy's shoulder. "Great, huh?" he immediately came forward to retrieve his card, but Emil looked _extremely _taken aback at being part of the first to be picked out. He seemed even more alarmed when headmaster Vargas shouted, "Come on out here! Don't be shy!"

Emil tried to move, but found that his body refused. Lovino shoved him from behind, and so as a result, poor Emil almost tripped over his own feet. Luckily, he caught his footing in time as well as Dracul catching him, though there was sniggering around him, causing him to flush and quickly come out from the strawberry blonde's grip. However, licking his lips, he came forward with his heart thumping rapidly in his chest, but he held his head high to face everyone with Dracul beside him. Once he reached the headmaster, he took the man's hand and shook it as he finally retrieved his card and faced their idol.

Their idol member, Mitchell, smiled warmly, "Hello there, it's nice to meet you two."

"Nice to meet you, too!" responded Dracul.

Before Emil could greet him as well, though, headmaster Vargas spoke up, "You can spend more time together outside! Now, you can go outside and look around the school! Don't be afraid to ask the mentors about your whereabouts, and try not to cause _too _much chaos, okay? There _are _some idols who are actually recording – you don't want to be kicked out on your first day, right?"

Once Dracul, Emil and Mitchell left with their cards, the machine was brought to life again; shooting out another stack of three cards.

The next card read, _'__**Name: Rosaliese Edelstein. Age: 17. Course: Stylist. Credit Points: 0. Idol: Gilbert Beilschmidt. Composer: Karina Galante.'**_

'_**Name: Karina Galante. Age: 14. Course: Composer. Credit Points: 0. Stylist: Rosaliese Edelstein. Idol: Gilbert Beilschmidt.'**_

'_**Name: Gilbert Beilschmidt. Age: 17. Course: Idol. Credit Points: 0. Composer: Karina Galante. Stylist: Rosaliese Edelstein.'**_

A young lady came forward. Despite being the same age as Quan, he couldn't help but describe her as a lady rather than a girl – the poise and elegance that radiated around her just heavily exuded that very fact. She had long, dark russet hair and a funny curl that stuck up; providing a great contrast to her pale skin. Her amethyst eyes glowed frostily at everyone else as she held her head high and made her way to receive her card.

Following her shyly was a young girl with short, dark blonde hair that reached her shoulders, and was wavy at the ends. Her big blue eyes were widened in shock, but upon seeing her other two members come forward, she quickly scampered after the older, lady-like student.

There was a wolf-whistle that belonged to the white-haired student who Quan saw lightly teasing the green-eyed brunette with the blonde. "Not bad," the white-haired fellow smirked as he gazed at Rosaliese up and down. "Not bad at all!"

Rosaliese herself however looked far from amused. She narrowed her eyes and gave a sniff, "A shame; I expected _much _better for the idol I work with."

This caused the pale-haired Gilbert to blink in astonishment and for some gasps in shock, as well as the the blonde and green-eyed brunette at his sides to laugh. Lovino snickered while Dracul guffawed and Madeleine giggled. Even Quan himself felt a smile beginning to form on his thin lips. Karina Galante looked horrified at what just happened, however before Gilbert could respond, another stack of cards shot out from the slot, to which the information was revealed via the huge screen at the back.

'_**Name: Felicia Vargas. Age: 16. Course: Idol. Credit Points: 0. Stylist: Eduard von Bock. Composer: Alfred F Jones.'**_

'_**Name: Eduard von Bock. Age: 16. Course: Stylist. Credit Points: 0. Composer: Alfred F Jones. Idol: Felicia Vargas.'**_

'_**Name: Alfred F Jones. Age: 16. Course: Composer. Credit Points: 0. Idol: Felicia Vargas. Stylist: Eduard von Bock.'**_

Quan wasn't sure how long he waited for; it seemed like hours to him, but it was after when several students passed him to exit the huge concert stage resulting in fewer and fewer student, when his ear finally twitched at his name being called and seeing his face up on the screen along with two others.

'_**Name: Quan Nguyen. Age: 17. Course: Stylist. Credit Points: 0. Composer: Madeleine Williams. Idol: Antonio Fernandez-Carriedo.'**_

Glancing sideways, Madeleine's violet eyes widened, however she looked highly relieved. The Vietnamese boy couldn't help but feel that relief himself, making him actually flash a tiny smile at her, "It seems we're working together. I am glad for that."

"Me, too," Madeleine smiled, clearly looking in better spirits as she walked side-by-side with her stylist. The two of them looked forward, when Quan found gold bearing into emerald.

It was the brunette who smiled at him.

"_¡Hola!_" he smiled, voice traced with a thick, Spanish accent. "My name is Antonio Fernandez Carriedo!"

"Y-yes," Madeleine was able to splutter out as she pointedly looked at the large screen. "We already know…"

"Oh," Antonio rubbed the back of his head, but gave a warm laugh. "My bad!"

Quan simply arched an eyebrow, but nonetheless, retrieved his card and, after shaking Mr Vargas' hand in tightening grip, began walking out of the auditorium with his composer and idol.

* * *

**End of first chapter!  
Characters:  
- Quan Nguyen = Nyo!Vietnam  
- Madeleine Williams = Nyo!Canada  
- Emil Steilsson = Iceland  
- Dracul Dalca = Romania  
- Mitchell Mancham = Nyo!Seychelles  
- Rosaliese Edelstein = Nyo!Austria  
- Karina = Nyo!Latvia.**

**Translations [in order as seen in story]:  
- _Ciao [Italian] = Hello  
- Mi dispiace, signorina! [Italian] = I'm sorry, Miss!  
- bella [Italian] = beautiful  
- Hola [Spanish] = Hello_**

**Expect the next chapter in a day or two. :) **

**Peace out, and share your thoughts!  
- Hebi-Kazechi-10**


	2. The Cynical Stylist

**Shorter chapter is shorter. TT7TT**

**But, well anyway - HUGE thanks to 0- Jougen Knight -0 for the fave, follow AND review! 8D seriously, you're awesomer than Prussia! *dodges bullets***

0- Jougen Knight -0: **Thanks! I really love this couple - they're my Hetalia yaoi OTP. :) ahh, really? That's a shame about your experience in the UtaPri fandom; I myself am not _too _involved with it, but the story itself seems interesting! :D**

**Hope you enjoy! =^^=**

**[Music Recommendation: Guess Who by Kevin MacLeod]**

* * *

"Oh wow, really? So you have a sister, _Magdalena_?" Antonio asked eagerly, grass-green eyes glowing.

"Yeah," Madeleine smiled weakly. "She's more into sports, though."

"Oh, really? What kind of sports?"

"Well, she's more into baseball, but she loves playing volleyball, basketball and soccer, too," said Madeleine thoughtfully.

"Soccer? Oh, you mean _football_."

It was already a few minutes, and Quan found that the idol he and Madeleine were working with had a motor mouth on him that just _wouldn't _shut up. Immediately, the Vietnamese boy found himself starting to get headache from the constant chatter that the Spaniard (he had told them that he was one beforehand after Madeleine questioned about his accent, and he in turn questioned her about hers) was making. So instead, he tried to settle his sore head by glancing around their surroundings as the three of them were wandering aimlessly around the school.

"So, does she want to be an athlete someday?"

Madeleine nodded, "Yes, she does. She's actually in a school that specialises in sports."

"Wow, really?" Antonio looked thoroughly impressed. "_¡Muy bueno_! How about you? Can you play any sports, _Magdalena_?"

Here, the Canadian girl flushed, "Actually…I'm not that sporty. I'm not that good at all; the ball always ends up in my face…"

Antonio gave a laugh, "Well, don't worry! You're here to be a composer, not an athlete; I'm positive your song-writing and compositions must be amazing! After all; you _are _here." It was then that he craned his head a bit and spoke up, "How about you, _señor _Quan?"

Here, Quan blinked a little; _just _realizing that the Spaniard had diverted his attention to him. "What about me?" he inquired in a cautious manner.

"Can you play any sports?"

Quan simply shrugged his shoulders in response.

From that, a rather awkward silence suddenly hung around in the air. Madeleine nervously shuffled her feet, but Antonio didn't seem bothered at all. Instead, the bubbly brunette pushed forth with another question this time, "How about siblings? Have you got any siblings?"

"Younger brother and younger sister," Quan answered curtly.

"Ooh, really?" Antonio grinned. "How old?"

"Brother is fourteen, sister is eight."

Quan was seriously wondering on why this guy was spouting so many questions; it wasn't like he was actually going to remember them. After all: he was an idol – idols were obsessed with their work and were going to have the majority of their time spent on that very work. They had an image to maintain, and were constantly achieving for the highest of stars…

'…_even if it means sacrificing a lot and leaving it all behind on earth…'_

"Oh, that sounds so cute!" beamed Antonio. "Do any of your siblings want to come here?"

"They both do," responded Quan, now starting to feel agitated from the questions poking at his private life.

"Wow! That'd be awesome if they could come! Haha, I sounded just like Gilbert for a moment there! Do they both want to be stylists, too, or something else? Will you also be staying in a dorm here?"

"Why are you asking me so many questions?"

Antonio blinked in confusion at the cold response, "_¿Qué_?"

"I said – why are you asking so many questions?" Quan repeated. He didn't even bother to face the one who questioned him.

This caused Madeleine to stare at him in surprise; he wasn't this cold when he spoke to her. Sure, he was quiet and a bit brusque with his responses, but he spoke to her, and he didn't seem to exude that coldness that he was emanating right now. Heck, they even had a nice conversation together, and Madeleine felt that she had made a new friend who she can turn to. It made her feel _very_ uneasy and wary on how he was acting right now; perhaps there was another side to him? Maybe he wasn't what he was back at the front desk and was now showing his true colours? Or perhaps he just hated being asked too many questions?

"Well, I just want to know more about you, that's all," answered Antonio. "After all, we'll be working together for the rest of our school lives."

"An idol caring about a stylist's personal life?" Quan quirked an eyebrow, his pace unstopping. "You do not need to pretend that you actually are interested about me, or anyone else." Here, he looked pointedly at Madeleine who shuffled her feet nervously at his frosty, yet not necessarily untrue, words, "Our relationship is strictly _professional_; you sing and do your performances, and it is my job to make you look good while you do it, exude your style so that others will recognize you, as well as have them follow you. End of story. My personal details should be of no concern."

"_Pretend_?" here, Antonio was even more perplexed. "I'm not pretending anything! I truly do want to know more about you – after all, wouldn't we work even better together if we know about each other more?"

Quan simply snorted, "Do what you want; I'm only here to make it as a stylist. Likewise, you are here to become a successful idol. That should be the end of the story."

With that, Antonio was at a loss for words – simply because he didn't know how to respond. Just what _can _you say to somebody who was so cold and closed off? Never in his life had the Spaniard ever met such a cynical, nonchalant and reserved guy before.

"Um…Antonio, what kind of music do you like?" questioned Madeleine quickly to try and dampen the unfriendly and tense atmosphere.

Snapping back from his momentary daze, Antonio looked down at the female composer, "Huh? I'm sorry…what was that?"

The bespectacled blonde gave a tired sigh, "What kind of music do you like? What songs? What particular genre do you like and not like?"

"Oh," a smile instantly spread out on Antonio's tanned face upon hearing the inquiry. "Well…" here, he began rubbing his chin as he pondered. "I like pop a lot, but I love playing my guitar while singing, too!"

"You play guitar?" Quan this time questioned as he quirked an eyebrow.

Antonio was a bit surprised from the Asian's showing interest, but flashed him a cheeky grin, "I thought you didn't care about personal details, _señor_?"

"I didn't say I cared not for _your _personal details," murmured Quan as his eyes narrowed. "It is _my _personal details that do not matter. Sadly, I have to hear about yours since I am your stylist. Knowing about your details, despite how much you spout out, is imperative to determine what kind of style suits you. Still, not everything has to be mentioned to me: I can work with small pieces."

"Oh…" Antonio blinked again at the frosty response. "Well, okay, then…"

"S-so…where are we, anyway?" inquired Madeleine as she began looking around.

Likewise, Antonio turned his head from side-to-side inquisitively, "Honestly, I have _no _idea…"

"Cafeteria."

"_¿Qué_?"

Quan heaved a heavy sigh as he pointed at a sign with what appeared to be a bowl of pasta drawn on it, "It says right there – _cafeteria_." It was right beside a large, red door that looked like it was recently applied a fresh coat of paint.

"Oh, okay!" Antonio beamed. "Nice one, Quan!"

'_Nice one?'_ not so long ago, Quan was confident that his cold demeanour and sharp words had put off the green-eyed idol so that he wouldn't try and get close. He certainly looked confused and unsure. But where the hell did _this _come from? It was as if the bubbly brunette had forgotten about his antagonistic behaviour.

"So, shall we enter?" by the time Quan brought himself back to reality, he saw that Antonio had already opened the cafeteria's door and gestured to the both of them; smile still present on his face.

'_That smile…it's always there…'_ the Vietnamese boy thought to himself as he nodded at Madeleine; beckoning her to enter first. The blonde's cheeks took a tinge of cherry red while looking momentarily taken aback. However, she nodded and entered through the door with her hands clasped at her front. Antonio himself made a gesture at Quan; ushering him to go inside before him while still smiling brightly. _'Is he mocking me?'_

The cafeteria was a rather spacious room that seemed to be made of two levels with stairs bridging between them. The floors were tiled and completely clean, the walls were a lovely sea-green colour and the white ceilings had crystal chandeliers twinkling proudly from above. The windows were wide, and framed with vibrantly patterned curtains. The tables were all round with white cloth over them, and the chairs appeared to be cushioned, too. There was the part where you got the food, however instead of trays, there were plates and silverware already lined up and ready.

Finally, the most interesting of all, there were several instruments that stood at the very front of the room right below the banister of the second floor – there was a grand piano at one side, a drum kit at the rear, a few seats at the side with music stands and amplifiers, and a microphone in its stand at the front.

Upon catching sight of the instruments, Quan noticed that Antonio's already bright eyes were lighting up some more: causing them to spark a bit.

"A stage in the cafeteria?" Madeleine wondered, totally surprised.

Quan half-heartedly shrugged a shoulder, "Practice, perhaps?"

"Whatever it is, I can't wait to play guitar here!" piped up Antonio excitedly. "The amps look really new!"

Gazing around a bit more, Quan's golden orbs finally settled upon two steel doors where his nose detected a delectable aroma that wafted _just _through the seeping crack. It was crisp, warm and made the Vietnamese boy's stomach suddenly start to give a little growl. Upon catching another whiff, the dark-haired stylist felt his mouth suddenly start to water, however he quickly shook his head to snap himself out of it. Noticing that Quan seemed off, Madeleine took a sniff herself and looked highly content, "That smell…"

"Smell?" Antonio sniffed, and after doing so, gave a big sigh of contentment as well. "Wow…that smells _so _good~"

Sadly, their enjoyment of basking their noses in that smell were cut short when the doors suddenly slammed open, and out came a rather familiar face that was spouting words that would make a sailor blush.

"Who the hell does that fucking bastard think he is?! The Prince of Nigeria?!"

Upon exiting a white room with what appeared to be a silver fridge, there came Lovino who was ranting angrily at a violet-eyed blonde who was wearing a white beret upon his head. He looked a bit nervous at the Italian's foul language, and gave a sheepish chuckle to express it. However, upon catching sight of the three who entered the cafeteria, he blinked curiously for a second before his slightly full face broke out into a smile.

"Hello there!" Quan noted that he had a slightly feminine manner of speech, and his pitch a bit higher than a typical male's, but still male nonetheless. There was also an accent laced there, but he wasn't sure what country of origin it would be.

"_¡Hola_!" greeted Antonio as he waved happily.

"What the-? Oh, you," Lovino snorted dismissively in Quan's direction. However, he smiled a little in Madeleine's, "And you, too, Madeleine. Nice to see you again."

"Um…same to you, too?" Madeleine herself looked unsure of what to say since she noticed the Italian clearly be rather nonchalant to her stylist's presence.

"Ooh, you know each other?" Antonio looked excited. "Is he your boyfriend, _Magdalena_?"

"B-_boyfriend_?!" the bespectacled composer squeaked at the word. "N-no, he isn't!"

"They just met," added Quan.

"Well, it's nice to meet you!" the blonde boy with Lovino spoke up. "I'm Tino Väinämöinen and I'm a composer student! And you?" he brought his arm out in offering straight to whoever was the closest to him.

And that would be Madeleine.

"I'm Madeleine," she said with a small, shy smile as she took his hand and shook it. "Madeleine Williams; I'm also a composer."

"Really?" Tino looked excited upon hearing that. "That's great! I'm looking forward to having classes with you!" he then turned to Antonio and stretched his arm out again, "And you?"

"I'm Antonio!" beamed the Spaniard. "Antonio Fernandez-Carriedo! Idol student!"

"Idol? That's amazing!" Tino's violet eyes sparkled as he shook hands with the brunette. "I wish I could sing."

Antonio gave a hearty laugh, "Anyone can sing!"

Quan narrowed his eyes to the size of poison darts upon hearing that, as well as causing one of his eyebrows to quirk up again. He must've looked visibly intimidating, for Tino seemed rather nervous upon facing him.

"Ah…u-um…"

The Vietnamese boy snapped his head in the blonde boy's direction to show that he captured his full attention. "Yes?" he asked politely. Noticing how frightened Tino looked right now, made Quan soften his expression just a fraction.

"And you – what's your name?" Tino hesitated at first, but pressed on.

"Quan," the golden-eyed stylist replied as he stood straight and this time turned his body in direction with his face to provide his full attention. "Quan Nguyen. I am of the stylist class."

"Stylist?" Tino's tone was rather surprised…

…and Quan didn't like how surprised that tone was, "Yes, stylist. Why?"

"Nothing! It's nothing!" Tino cried quickly; he definitely didn't want to anger somebody like the Asian who stood before him. Glowering at him with those blazing, golden orbs, and that cold face, to boot.

"Great, so I'm sharing classes with you, then?" Lovino heaved a sigh as he shook his head. "And I'm also with that vampire looking bastard."

"Vampire looking bastard?" Antonio asked curiously. "Who's that?"

"None of your fucking business!" snapped the Italian.

Here, Antonio looked ever _more _taken aback at being openly sworn at. The Spaniard's emerald eyes widened as he gaped, "E-Excuse me…?"

"D-don't mind him, Antonio," Madeleine spoke up. "I've only met him today, but he always swears; he swears at everybody, actually."

Tino nodded, "Swore at me, too!"

"Not exactly _everybody_," here, to everyone's surprise, Quan was the one who spoke up. His golden orbs weren't blazing in a warning manner like before; instead, much to Antonio's surprise, they seemed to be…glittering. Glittering in a sort of tone that was more subdued than the previous flames that the Spaniard had seen today upon their first meeting. No, the flames here were small and seemed more like flares. They also shone with something else…

Antonio wasn't even sure if he was correct, but he could've sworn he saw _amusement _in those eyes.

"Who does Lovino not swear at?" inquired Tino curiously.

"He doesn't swear at women," Quan responded evenly.

Lovino snorted, "You make it sound like as if it was a bad thing, bastard."

"It's not necessarily a bad thing," remarked Quan coolly, though by now it was obvious that he looked like he was enjoying himself at the moment. "It's just something interesting to take note of."

"Interesting?"

"Yes, interesting."

"What the hell's so interesting about _that_?!"

"Er, anyway," Madeleine spoke up upon noticing that the Italian did _not _look impressed with her stylist's words. "Who were you talking about earlier, Lovino? There's somebody who you're not happy at?"

"Damn straight," Lovino growled. "Bastard thinks he's top-notch and shit just because he's an idol…ha! Idol my ass! I'll only believe it once I hear that motherfucker sing!"

"An idol student? How am I not surprised?" Antonio inwardly cringed upon _feeling _the venom actually poke out in small, but multiple tips from the dark-haired Asian's otherwise calm words.

"He sounds horrible," said the Spaniard, not letting Quan's frost freeze him. "Who is it?"

"Lars van Stein! That fucking prick of a scarf bastard!"

Antonio gaped, "_Lars_?!"

"You certainly sound surprised," Quan noted. "You know him?"

"_S-sí_, I do," gulped the Spaniard; he could just _feel _the accusing glare from the Asian. "He's a childhood friend of mine."

"Childhood friend?" Madeleine gasped. "Really?"

Antonio nodded, "I haven't seen him in such a long, _long_ time! I didn't know that he was an idol here, too!"

"A friend of yours?" Lovino seethed. "Well, that definitely settles it! Don't you come near me, bastard!"

"H-huh?!" Antonio cried. "B-but what did I even do?!"

"You're friends with that prick, so you're probably a prick yourself!"

"B-but that doesn't even make sense!"

"Let's get outta here, beret bastard," and with a huff, Lovino suddenly grabbed Tino's shoulder in a rough hold and marched straight out of the cafeteria. The violet-eyed blonde looked highly flustered upon being forced out by his stylist, but flashed the trio that stayed behind a sheepish smile before finally disappearing into the hall, and out of their sight.

Another really awkward silence filled the room, and it continued even after Madeleine prompted them all to look around the school a bit more.

Throughout the whole thing, Quan remained scarily silent.

Though Antonio tried to engage the Asian stylist a couple of times into the conversation, he didn't respond with words – rather he gave a small nod or shrug of his shoulders. When Madeleine _did _speak to him, however, the golden-eyed boy would finally choose to talk, albeit with rather short and simple answers and choice of words.

Naturally, that made Antonio rather irritated. And so, when it was finally time to go home after searching and exploring around the impressive academy, Madeleine waved awkwardly to the both of them while Quan left with a simple nod before making his way to the train station.

During that, Antonio glared angrily at the back of Quan's short, dark hair. _'What does he have against idols, anyway?' _the Spaniard thought to himself in frustration. However, upon seeing that the Vietnamese boy looked rather withdrawn, the green-eyed brunette then began to wonder, _'Why does he hate idols so much? Why even come to this school if he hates idols? Is it because he just wants to be a stylist? Or…maybe he doesn't hate idols?'_

A bunch of questions of the sort popped up in Antonio's mind as he tried to wrack his brain upon the possible reason why his stylist seemed to dislike idols. And pretty soon, the anger and irritation that had borne from before had begun to get easily replaced with curiosity and determination.

Instead of getting upset at Quan for his seeming prejudice against idols, Antonio reversed it – he was going to continue doing what he was doing from the very beginning.

Get to know him better, be nice to him, and include himself in his life.

He was going to prove to the Vietnamese stylist that not all idols were horrible, spoiled and arrogant people who cared naught for those who helped and contributed to their career.

No, he would show him; he would _definitely _show him.

He was that determined.

* * *

**Shorter than how I wanted it to go, but well...TT7TT future chapters will definitely be longer! :D**

**Characters:  
- Tino Väinämöinen = Finland  
- Lars van Stein = Netherlands**

**Translation/s [in order of appearance]:  
- _Magdalena = Spanish form of Madeleine  
- Muy bueno! [Spanish] = Very good!  
- __señor [Spanish] = Mr  
- ¿__Qué? [Spanish] = What?/Huh?  
- Sí [Spanish] = Yes_**

**Anyway, drop a review if you want - I'd love to hear what you think about this. =^^=**

**Peace out,  
Hebi-Kazechi-10**


	3. Dreamy Downtown Days

**And here's another chapter! :D**

**Thank you so much to those who reviewed - seriously, that means so much! :'D**

0- Jougen-Knight -0: **Well, I always thought Nyo!Vietnam and Vietnam were more of a kuudere type of character that eventually soften upon seeing how truly nice and great the person is. :) there's a reason why Quan isn't so fond of idols, so stay tuned! ;D yup! Antonio's not giving up on him! XD LOL actually I thought of Kira while I was writing about Lars - it wouldn't be that surprising, honestly. XD  
**

Aka-hime:** Thank you so much! :D hell yeah! I love Nyo!Canada - she's so adorable; my favourite Nyotalia girl. Canada's my favourite guy after Spain. :)**

**Hope you enjoy! 8D**

**[Music Recommendation: Yesterday, Today by Ichiko Hashimoto from RahXephon.]**

* * *

Quan simply gazed through the window as the train continued running along the tracks. Unblinking, his golden eyes simply peered over some of the large skyscrapers as the long vehicle slithered along up a bridge. The sky was starting to change colour – it was still a pale sort of blue, but drops of gold were already blending in with it as the sun continued its journey down to the horizon.

Deep in thought, the Vietnamese boy pondered slightly upon his first day at Shining World Academy. Sure, he felt privileged and rather nervous upon entering the prestigious academy, but he also felt determined to do well.

'_Sadly, I end up with an idol who won't stop talking,'_ he thought to himself, now feeling tired all over again upon recalling the bubbly brunette's babbling.

Honestly, he never expected to have a very cheerful and seemingly ever smiling guy in his group. It irritated the dark-haired stylist when that Spaniard kept on asking him questions – Quan didn't like it when attention was drawn to himself, being the private and reserved person that he was.

'_He can't be serious when he said that he genuinely wanted to know me better…'_ he thought to himself. _'No way.'_

Still, it made him wonder – especially with such a big, bright smile that matched finely with such glowing grass green orbs.

'…_still…' _he exhaled some air a bit as he leaned on the metal pole, hands still placed in the pockets of his dark trousers. _'Maybe…I _could _be wrong about him. Not all of them are totally heartless and uncaring. There are some that are genuinely nice and caring not only to their fans, but to everyone in general. However…' _his gaze then fixed to a large electronic billboard that showed a young, female idol who seemed to be sponsored for a clothing line. _'The majority of them are disgusting…the ones that hide it behind a mask are just all the more repulsive…'_

Recalling Antonio's surprised and confused expression at his cold words, Quan felt something inside his stomach knot uncomfortably, as well as make him knit his brows together. _'I can't possibly be feeling guilty,' _he mused. _'Anyone with at least half a brain would feel that way, too…right?' _

His own thoughts were becoming far more pensive and wondering as he tried not to focus on the twisting that occurred in his stomach.

'_Hmm…'_

Before he could dwell a bit more, he was abruptly brought back out of his train of thought when the train in reality itself stopped at the station. Because he didn't expect it, he almost toppled over, giving a rather strange noise as he caught himself while the train doors slid open.

A group consisting of four girls that appeared younger than him by a year or two entered the train chattering excitedly amongst themselves. They sat on the seat just close by him instead of going up or downstairs.

Sadly, they were talking a bit too loudly in their discussion, so no matter how much Quan tried to ignore them by either focusing on his experience at Shining World Academy today, or the twists that were occurring in his stomach, he couldn't really block them out from his (sadly) great sense of hearing.

"Have you heard it? Well, have you?" one of them asked a bit too excitedly – she was practically bouncing on the seat.

Likewise, her equally eager friend was squealing happily, "I have! It's so, _so_ good!"

'_Lovely…'_ Quan inwardly sighed as he rolled his eyes out in public. _'Idol fan girls…'_ he leaned his weight a bit more on the metal rod that provided him support. _'As if my headache wasn't bad enough…'_

"He's so talented!" Girl A sighed dreamily while her friends chorused in agreement, "I _know_!"

"And he is oh so hot!" one of her friends, Girl B, sighed happily while her friends started giggling giddily in their gaggle.

"He's also so classy and cool!" Girl C spoke up with a huge grin on her face. "I love how silent and composed he is!"

Quan rubbed at his head as he could make out a green park with trees lined up at the sides close to the white pathway, which made him sigh in relief. _'Almost home…'_ he thought. _'_Finally_.'_

"I totally want to be his fairy-tale!"

"I know!"

"Me, too!"

Once the train stopped at the station, Quan had never felt so happy in his life. "God…" he groaned as he rubbed at his temple more with one hand, while gripping at his shoulder bag with the other. He really couldn't care less about who a group of giggling girls were referring to.

'_I have far more important things to worry about, anyway.'_

Though he lived slightly off from the train station, Quan preferred walking home rather than taking a taxi or bus. The golden-eyed Asian preferred stretching his legs to planting his rear. Besides, it really wasn't that far off from his home, anyway – it took him about forty minutes from his apartment, actually.

'_Besides,'_ he thought to himself as he walked right past a couple of buildings and small stores that other people were just passing by. _'It's more refreshing than uptown.'_

"Quan!" a voice called out happily. "How are you? Out of school, already, aru?"

The young Vietnamese man felt his lips curve up into a smile upon instantly recognizing the speaker. He gave a small, soft smile as he came to a small store that was in an old building that was created from aged red bricks. He stopped before a glass display that was filled with various baked treats and snacks as he bowed respectfully to the woman that was behind it, close to the counter and near the fridge that bore drinks of various kinds. "Good afternoon, Ms Wang."

The brown-eyed woman, and owner, behind the counter was wearing what appeared to be a black _qipao _dress, and a hat of a matching colour atop her deep auburn hair that was tied into a set of buns. She laughed good-naturedly as she dipped her head in acknowledgement back at him, "A good afternoon to you, too, aru!" she tilted her head. "Going home, then?"

"But of course," responded Quan. "I don't want to leave Yong Soo or Mei alone for too long."

"That's true," nodded Ms Wang as she smiled fondly. "Mei really doesn't like you leaving her for too long – Sakura would tell me that whenever she watched over her, she would get upset when you wouldn't come home for a while!"

Here, Quan gave a soft, sheepish chuckle which he tried to conceal from behind a fist, "She _is_ quite clingy." He then placed his fist down and adjusted the strap of his shoulder bag a bit. "But it _is _adorable at times," he admitted.

"It is adorable, indeed," agreed Ms Wang. There was the sound of clinking plates, when suddenly, the frayed flowery curtain that concealed the back (to where the pastries were obviously produced at) was slid over to the side as a bespectacled Thai boy exited from it as he carefully carried a tray of treats over.

"Kasem, hello there," Quan greeted, this time a visible and obvious smile crossed his usually cold and expressionless features.

The young man appeared to be slightly older than Quan, but upon catching sight of the Vietnamese male, he seemed to perk up a bit. His spiky, slightly wavy, dark brown hair sprung up with his body as a warm smile immediately spread out on his face. The glasses magnified his golden brown eyes that twinkled merrily. The tray that he was carrying contained round, slightly pudgy, white buns that had wisps of steam billowing upwards.

"Ahh, I see you are done with the _cha siu bao_!" Ms Wang looked greatly satisfied as she quickly took the tray from Kasem. "Good job, aru! That was faster than expected." Looking from him to Quan, though, she raised her head with a knowing smile, "Though I could already tell why you worked faster than your usually leisurely pace." She then gestured in Quan's direction, "You can talk to him for a bit, but not _too _long – I'm sure you can find some other time to socialise: you're still working, and Quan has to get home to his siblings, too, aru!"

And with that, while Ms Wang placed the _cha siu bao_ in a nice spot on display for people to see, Kasem got out from behind the counter, and came up to the golden-eyed stylist. The bespectacled Asian was revealed to be wearing both a white shirt, and a pair of white pants. He was also sporting a pale orange apron that was smudged with flour patches.

Seeing him nod, Quan continued along the path with Kasem walking beside him. "How are you?" he questioned. "Fine?"

Upon his companion nodding, Quan himself continued, "That's good. I'm doing quite well myself." Noticing Kasem look a bit hesitant with something – due to him raising his slightly stiff hand by just a centimetre or so, but quickly place it down was a signal to the golden-eyed stylist, "Yes, you're right: today was technically my first day at Shining World Academy – today, I am officially in the stylist class."

Kasem's bright beam returned.

"How about you? Know what to do for college?"

The sad expression that creased onto the bespectacled male's face was enough of an answer to Quan. "Well, you're not that much older than me," the Vietnamese stylist remarked. "You still have time to think about what you want to do with your life, so don't worry. Hell, I'm pretty sure people twice our age are still wandering or participating in college, anyway."

Kasem simply smiled weakly at the response, but he _did _heave a little sigh.

When he saw him give him a questioning look this time, Quan himself heaved a sigh, albeit a heavy one, "Did I make any new friends?" the dark-haired stylist arched his eyebrow again, "You _do _know I'm in a school that consists of not only stylists and composers, but idols, too, right?"

This time, a scowl creased onto Kasem's usually soft and cheerful face.

Quan rolled his eyes from it, "Always so kind…you always were…still," he shrugged one shoulder half-heartedly, "I don't honestly know…well, I _have _made one friend. My composer." When Kasem tilted his head in question, the golden-eyed stylist continued, "That's part of the school program – we're placed into a group for the whole of our school lives: made up of one idol, one composer, and one stylist."

The golden brown eyes beside him sparkled in excitement; the clear glasses only showed how eager he looked for the details.

Quan gave a small chortle, "It is an interesting premise. I'm quite intrigued by it, too – I never really heard of it before, but it makes sense, doesn't it? After all, once we graduate and get into our respective fields, we'd have to know how to be able to cope with and handle our clients, or those who work beside us. It's only fair, after all."

Kasem himself half-heartedly shrugged one of his shoulders. Quan couldn't help but feel some amusement at the gesture.

The two boys continued walking along the path in a pleasant silence as the sun continued setting lower and lower – painting the sky a beautiful orange and gold to signal how late it was finally becoming. There were barely any cars around here due to how narrow the roads were, and how there were a lot of buildings were people tended to just hang around selling many kinds of produce, as well as some children playing around with some toys or riding their bikes. During this, they both admired the simplistic, yet warm sights around them; Kasem was slightly swaying his spiky head around a bit, while Quan simply planted his gaze around.

But it was then that his honey hues stopped at his old friend, that Quan realized that he was gazing at him steadily for a little bit, though there was a curious glint that twinkled in those glasses-clad eyes.

"What is it?" questioned Quan. Seeing Kasem glance pointedly at his shoulder bag, the Vietnamese boy gave a silent _'ah' _in understanding. "More about my school?" seeing his bespectacled companion hesitant, Quan tried to narrow down the broad topic, "More about the class that I'm partaking in?"

Kasem gave one nod, however after that, he then pulled his expression to a slightly worried one.

"Oh," Quan understood fully. "Am I nervous for my first day of classes tomorrow?"

The white smile gave the dark-haired stylist a lot of satisfaction.

Quan gave an amused tut, "Well…it would be a lie to say that I'm not nervous at all; I do feel slightly apprehensive because let's both face it – I'm pretty sure the other stylist students have had _far _more experience than me in regards to the profession." He then gazed upwards, causing Kasem to follow his stare.

There were a few birds – their dark figures were beautifully contrasted against the golden sky as they flew above past a couple of greying clouds.

"I wonder at times," Quan murmured musingly, his face then pulled down to his usually serious expression, though his honey gold eyes were slightly glossed over from worry – the usually fierce flame now reduced slightly due to his aforementioned nervousness, it seemed. "If I'm truly ready to participate in such a prestigious place. After all – only zero point five percent of the students who partake in the test pass to that place." He gave another small sigh, "But…I suppose that's kind of an exception if you have a scholarship. I didn't expect them to pick my entry out of the hundred that participated, though."

He stopped when he felt a warmth suddenly take hold of his shoulder and squeeze it slightly.

Glancing down, Quan saw that the warmth had come Kasem's hand. Looking up to face him eye-to-eye, the Vietnamese student could see that this time, his glasses-clad companion this time had a serious expression etched onto his face. His lips were drawn to a taut line, as his eyes bore right into Quan's.

Golden brown against honey gold.

Kasem's eyes were blazing in a serious fire, and it _really _took Quan aback upon his eyes jumping straight into the small, yet strong fire head on.

After maintaining eye contact for a little bit longer, Quan let loose an intake of breath as he rolled one shoulder and closed his own eyes – giving up it seemed with the silent discussion he had just then. He then gave another tsk as he tilted his head slightly to the side and turned it on a little angle. He flashed another soft and small smile in Kasem's direction, "And you were always so stubborn."

Kasem gave a little snort, though it seemed more out of amusement than disapproval or scoffing.

"Yes, yes, I know – I'm quite stubborn myself. I suppose that's one of the reasons why we're such close friends. You think so, too, don't you?"

The Thai boy's serious expression then softened as he cracked another smile and nodded – this time, the nodding appeared more enthusiastic than before. He also removed his hand from the Vietnamese student's shoulder when they finally reached an apartment building consisting of five levels. The bricks were pale, and there were balconies upon one window of each of the flats that were located.

"Here's my stop," Quan remarked. He turned his head to Kasem, "Thank you for accompanying me home, my friend. I quite enjoyed our conversation."

Kasem simply smiled back and bowed his head down humbly in his direction.

Likewise, the golden-eyed stylist bowed his own head to return the respectful gesture. "It would be nice to do this again sometime," said Quan sincerely. "You should come and visit us sometime – I'm positive that Yong Soo and Mei will be really happy seeing you."

Though the smile was still present on Kasem's face, his cheeks were tinged with a slight scarlet.

"See you later."

Quan simply watched Kasem leave after he nodded one last time after he released his words of departure. The Thai boy's back was progressively disappearing to the distance – soon he became a white speck.

Once he was gone, the Vietnamese boy entered the apartment and checked the array of mailboxes. He took out three envelopes and began rummaging through them as he climbed up the stairs; his steps making a clicking sound as he ascended past the second and third floor. "Bills, bills, and more bills," he grumbled to himself. Stopping at the third floor, Quan walked down the long hallway this time, and reached the door at the end. Rummaging his pockets for a bit with the three envelopes underneath his arm, he was able to yank out his keys and enter the apartment. He discarded his shoes and placed them beside the door while closing the door behind him.

"_Dàgē_! _Dàgē_ is home!"

Quan gave a little chuckle when he saw a flash of pink immediately dash right up to him and leap up to be caught into his arms. He didn't seem to care that he dropped the envelopes that contained the bills. "And how are you, madam?" he questioned as he gazed down at her.

A young girl with long, dark brown hair had a wild, curly strand sticking out on the right side of her head. Her big, brown eyes were twinkling in delight upon fixing on the golden-eyed student who entered. She was wearing a peach coloured _qipao _with golden trimming and long, billowing sleeves that concealed her hands, as well as a white skirt and pink slippers. There were a pair of pink flowers that were in her hair, too.

"_Hyeong_!" exclaimed another voice; just as energetic as the girl that was in Quan's arms. Hearing the thundering footsteps, the Vietnamese boy was not surprised when he was almost knocked over by a mass that was far larger than the girl he was holding. "You're home at last!"

"Yong Soo," Quan snickered as he fixed his posture and balance. "You're fourteen; aren't you a bit too old to jump onto your big brother?"

"I'm not!" protested the younger boy. "You're never too old to give your siblings a hug!"

"I suppose," shrugged the older, golden-eyed boy. "But, please get off for now – I have to walk, too, and you're too large for me."

Yong Soo pouted as he backed off, "_Fine_." He placed a hand on his hip as he gazed right at his older brother with eyes that looked far more similar to Mei's. The other hand was running through his short, black-brown hair that had a flyaway curl sticking out from the right side of his head. Funnily enough, the curl seemed to have a face that was drawn in the middle, and it matched the expression on his face. He was wearing a dark jacket, skinny jeans and fluffy, white slippers. "Were you with Kasem again?" he asked.

Quan snorted in amusement, "I presume you looked out the window and over the balcony, did you?"

"Nope!" Yong Soo grinned as he shook his head. "My intuition, da ze!"

"That very same intuition that mistook did not detect there were worms in their sandwich despite the obvious crawling forms from the bread?" teased the Vietnamese boy.

Yong Soo flushed, "Aww, come on, _hyeong_! Don't remind me of that, da ze! That was _so_ gross!"

Likewise, Mei's face scrunched up into a disgusted expression as she squealed, "_Ewwww_!" she then turned her attention to her oldest brother, "Guess what happened at school today, _dàgē_!"

"Hmm…" Quan tapped his chin as he placed his shoulder bag on the dining table. He scowled slightly as he began to ponder, "Hmm…have you done something nice to your hair?"

Mei giggled as she patted at his chest, "Don't be silly, _dàgē_!"

"Hmm…well, then…maybe you changed your clothes?"

"Now you're just being silly, _dàgē_! You've seen me wearing these clothes so many times!"

"Ah…sorry, I give up. What is it?"

"The little guy she has a crush on was talking to her a lot today!" Yong Soo laughed. "It was pretty cute when I came to pick her up – she looked so happy, and she kept hiding her face behind her sleeves!"

Quan blinked, "Who was this again?"

Mei's face suddenly exploded into a heated scarlet. She screamed in Yong Soo's direction, "No! No! Shut up, Yong Soo!"

"Come on, why are you so embarrassed, anyway?" wondered Yong Soo as he teased a bit more, lightly. "We're your family, after all! You're not supposed to hide secrets in your family!"

"W-what?! I'm not hiding anything! You're stupid!"

"Mei," this time, the dark-haired stylist turned on responsible brother mode. "Do not say that to your brother; it is disrespectful," he scolded. "Especially to someone older than you."

She huffed, "He started it, _dàgē_!"

"Still," Quan said sternly as he narrowed his eyes firmly. "That does not mean you say such a thing to your elders; what if you say that to somebody outside? They wouldn't feel happy now, would they?"

Mei drooped slightly, "I…I guess so…" she then nodded and looked up sheepishly at her older brother with her arms still wrapped around his neck. "I'm really sorry, _dàgē_," she said softly. Then she turned to look at Yong Soo, "I'm really, really sorry, _gegē_."

Yong Soo just gave a hearty laugh, "I don't really care! I've heard _far _worse, da ze!"

"You've heard worse?" Quan arched an eyebrow. "I certainly hope you haven't been speaking among them."

"Nah," Yong Soo shook his head. "They're not my friends – they're just people in my class." He gave a dramatic sigh, "They can honestly be really annoying…" he then perked up to grin at his older brother, "But never mind about my crappy school! What about you? You're in Shining World Academy now, da ze! I'm so jealous! I wanna go there, too! I want to be an idol!"

Quan rubbed his head as he placed his sister down, "Yong Soo…being an idol is cutthroat." He then ushered to the little girl, "You can watch some T.V. – it's still only five-thirty: I'll prepare dinner once I finish changing." Seeing her look a bit reluctant with being left out between her two older brothers, the Vietnamese boy added in a low, bargaining tone, "I'll make some bubble tea and oyster omelette."

Mei seemed really happy, for her whole being seemed to brighten, and she bounded out of her brother's arms as well as yanking off his straw hat to sit patiently on the couch as she turned the television on and placed it on her head.

"Yeah, I know that," agreed Yong Soo as he followed Quan to his room after he scooped up the enveloped bills. "But, I'm fully prepared for it, da ze!"

Quan discarded his shirt and heaved a sigh, "Come on, Yong Soo…"

"_Hyeong_, I wanna go to Shining World Academy, too! I want to be an idol!"

"Your dream is to be an idol, fair enough," remarked Quan as he changed into much more comfortable clothes for home. "But do you honestly think you can handle the pressures? I haven't even started class yet, but I'm already starting to feel the pressure emanating from the prestige of the academy."

Yong Soo pouted, "But like what you said – you haven't had classes yet! Maybe that's just your nervousness talking: your classes might actually run smoothly!"

Quan simply shrugged, "All I'm saying Yong Soo, is to consider it. Being an idol is already a hard occupation in itself – not many can become a successful idol and last. It's practically a one in a million chance."

"Yeah? Well, I'm gonna _be _that one!" grinned Yong Soo. "I'll be that one!"

Those words caused Quan to pause from his movements for a moment. "You're that positive?" he wondered. "Interesting…"

"Precisely! I'll even take a part time job to pay off the fees for the entrance exam and everything, da ze!"

Quan licked his lips at hearing the determination that traced in his younger brother's voice. The fire that was in Yong Soo's brown eyes, when he gazed at him, was burning higher and higher in a scorching inferno. It was clear to see that the younger boy was firm in his views, and determined to achieve what he wanted.

And that was to be an idol.

'_I hoped that he'd forget about for now – because being an idol is a dream you'd expect a child to have,'_ Quan thought to himself pensively. _'And even then…a majority of them morph to horrible things.' _Staring down at Yong Soo, he relaxed his shoulders a bit, _'I don't want him to end up like them.'_

"Is this what you really want?" questioned Quan.

Yong Soo nodded, "Yeah, more than anything, da ze!"

Quan sniffed, "I'm not inclined to take that fully into account just yet…but go take that part-time job, first. Let's see if you can reach the amount for the next entrance exam which will occur in several months' time in July."

"I didn't hear a no!" Yong Soo's eyes sparkled.

"I didn't say a yes," corrected Quan curtly as he reached the kitchen and started taking out pots from the drawers below the stove. "Now, come on – I have to prepare dinner."

"I'll help out!" offered Yong Soo as he ran to his older brother and started taking out some produce from the fridge.

"You're only saying that because of what I said earlier," mused Quan. "But you should know that it is an answer with no ground, really: I haven't said yes or no."

"But you said I can take a part-time job to pay for my own entrance exam!" beamed Yong Soo. "I'm definitely taking that! I'll work really hard, da ze!"

"Can I help, too?" Mei questioned. Much to Quan and Yong Soo's collective surprise, she was standing close to the counter and gazed up at them innocently. "I wanna help _dàgē _and _gegē _with cooking!" she this time formed her petite hands into determined fists.

"You want to help out?" inquired Quan in surprise. "I'm still making your oyster omelette and bubble tea, you know."

Mei nodded, "I know. But there's nothing on T.V."

Quan couldn't help but chuckle at the response he was given. He shook his head, but responded, "Sure thing, then. Just go and help Yong Soo with the sauce and cracking the eggs."

Hearing her excited squeal as well as Yong Soo's encouraging laugh, he quietly observed his younger siblings cooking with him. The meal was made all the more satisfying with his family cooking with him – all of them together. Dinner was a warm, pleasant and homely ordeal that involved laughter and some teasing, as well as full bellies. The rest of the night was spent with the three siblings watching a movie on television after washing up and changing into their pyjamas.

Yong Soo yawned as he bid his siblings goodnight and shut the door to his bedroom quietly.

Quan softly carried a snoozing Mei who was holding onto the front of his shirt. He entered a bedroom that had walls that were painted pink with flowers in a lighter shade. There were some shelves with a few books stacked in them, while there was a small table close by with paper and markers placed on it. Several pictures drawn with said markers were decorated on the wall close to the bed that had flowery sheets on it.

'_Cute,'_ Quan mused to himself as his eyes scanned the pictures in amusement. They were all stick figures, however it was obvious to see the subject of the artworks – since there was three figures in each and every one of them.

The biggest one had yellow eyes, the second biggest one had a curl, while the smallest one was a girl in pink.

"Goodnight, Mei," Quan whispered gently into her ear as he tenderly placed her onto the bed and tucked the blanket up to her chin. "Sweet dreams."

There was a little smile etched there onto her face.

Quan himself yawned once he reached his own room. Taking a book from the shelf beside his door that led outside his room, he lay on his own bed and started reading. It was a good while that he immersed himself with various lines of poetry, however he felt a bit nervous for tomorrow.

'_Tomorrow truly starts my days at Shining World Academy,'_ he deliberated slowly. _'I wonder…just what _does _lie in store?'_

* * *

**Bit more this time around, and that makes me happy. :D**

**Characters:  
- Ms Wang = Nyo!China  
- Kasem = Thailand  
- Mei = Taiwan  
- Yong Soo = South Korea**

**Translation/s [in order of appearance in story]:  
- _Dàgē_ [Chinese] = older brother: used for the eldest brother.  
- _Hyeong _[Korean] = older brother - only males can use this.  
- _Gegē _[Chinese] = older brother.**

**Special/s:  
- cha siu bao = buns filled with cha siu pork**

**I know that Kasem doesn't say a word at all, however there's a reason why he doesn't say a thing at all. However, that'll be covered in a much later chapter.**

**The next chapter? Haven't started, but I'll work on it soon! =w=|3**

**Peace out, guys!  
- Hebi-Kazechi-10**


	4. The Ice Starts to Crack

**Back with another! :)**

0- Jougen-Knight -0: **Well, Quan's softer side definitely shows in this chapter, too! ;D yeah, I agree - I don't like Vietnam or Nyo!Vietnam being tsundere, either. Stay tuned to find out if Miss Sakura appears. ;3 yeah, I chose Yong Soo to be like that! XD yes, there _is _a reason why Kasem/Thailand is the way he is. Sadly, it hasn't reached the classes yet - that's the next chapter; I hope you don't mind. Thank you so much for your reviews and continuing support, though. ;w;**

**Happy reading~! **

**[Music Recommendation:  
- Continue Life by Kevin MacLeod  
- Winter Chimes by Kevin MacLeod  
- Two Together by Kevin MacLeod]**

* * *

The night had passed on quickly, and Quan found himself going through the gates of Shining World Academy. He had taken a deep breath as he tried to cease the knots in his stomach that only seemed to increase as soon as he cracked an eye open in bed, and he was brought out of his slumber.

That morning he took a quick shower and wearing simple, comfortable clothes that consisted of a cotton shirt, old trousers, and worn out sneakers, he placed his shoulder bag on one of the six chairs placed at the dining table before quickly making breakfast before his younger siblings woke up.

Classes were to commence at nine sharp for all of them.

Yong Soo had heaved a yawn as he mumbled, "_Hyeong_…it's six-thirty; should you really be waking up this early?"

Quan simply responded by telling him to go wash and prepare himself for school as he carefully flipped a pancake in the sizzling pan.

Mei didn't complain when she was prompted to wake up – she even ate her pancakes in delight, though Quan had to stop her from pouring almost all the chocolate sauce down on her share. She loved putting bananas and strawberries on them, at least.

Before going to his own school, Quan walked with his siblings to see them off to their own respective schools after he locked the door to their home behind them. Mei was first, and the eldest sibling could see a bunch of children run around in the playground happily as they chattered in delight. There were a few teachers outside already, simply observing them play and frolic about.

However, it was at that moment, that Quan realized that Mei was looking at some of the kids who were getting hugged and kissed by their parents. There was a woman who was crouching down on her haunches and fixed at her little boy's hair and clothes while the child himself fidgeted uncomfortably, "Mama…" he mumbled embarrassedly.

"Now, you can go, sweetie," the woman smiled widely before planting a kiss on his temple. "Love you, baby."

"Mama!"

Mei simply shifted one of her feet on the ground. Seeing this, a light scowl crossed on Quan's face, however it also prompted him to take action upon seeing more kids getting warm temporary goodbyes. "Mei," he said gently.

The little girl tilted her head, "Yeah, _dàgē_?"

The golden-eyed male then went to his haunches just like the mother, and first fixed some of the bangs that were slightly covering one of her big, brown eyes with a tender sweep from his spindly fingers. He adjusted one of the pink flowers in her hair, and smoothed her plaited dress softly. Seeing that one of her shoes had a bit of dirt on the surface, he lightly swept his fingertips over it, to easily brush the grime away.

"There," he said in slight relief like the woman did to her son. He then flashed a soft smile at his little sister, "You can go now. _Wǒ ài nǐ_."

Hearing those three last syllables made the little girl seem to brighten – knowing why her usually quiet older brother was saying more words in his affectionate gestures. She beamed widely as she giggled, "_Wǒ ài nǐ_, _dàgē_!" and with that, she wrapped her arms around him to give him a tight hug before running into the school to catch up with some of her little friends. She made sure to wave at them.

It always made a smile want to crease on Quan's cold face whenever his younger sister would always shower him with affection.

"Do I get a hug, too, _hyeong_?" questioned Yong Soo as he spread his arms out, grinning.

Quan rolled his eyes, which caused the younger male to pout. "Go to school, and please don't cause any trouble," the Vietnamese boy remarked. "I don't want to hear a teacher complain that you sleep during classes."

"If you had her, you'd sleep, too, da ze!" Yong Soo protested.

"Well, if you wouldn't play your video games all night, then maybe you wouldn't sleep as much," responded Quan in a colder tone.

"Come on, _hyeong_! Gimme a break! I'm gonna go job hunting to pay for my entrance exam fees to Shining World Academy, and when I get that job, I won't be able to play as much as I want to!"

Here, Quan chose to soften a fraction – _only _a fraction. He shrugged a shoulder before nodding, "Fine, but seriously: _no _sleeping _during class_."

Yong Soo rolled his own eyes, but nodded, "Yes, _mom_." However, he patted his older brother's shoulder before saying, "See ya later, _hyeong_!" and ran into school to talk to some of his friends. Quan noticed that for some reason, they were all girls, and they were wearing clothes that made his cheeks heat up a bit. Thus, prompting him to turn tail and leave quickly to his own school.

"Who was that, Yong?" one of them questioned.

"That? That was my brother," responded Yong Soo upon gazing on the older boy's back. "My older brother." Seeing them giggle amongst themselves, he arched an eyebrow, "What? What is it?"

"Oh, nothing~"

Yong Soo simply stared at them in confusion.

'_I've only come here for the second time, but now today makes me feel worse,' _Quan mused s his eyes gazed upon the fountain. _'Class is about to start, but hopefully nothing horrible happens so early…after all, what are the chances-'_

No sooner had he thought that, when all of a sudden there was a loud yell of, "Look out!"

Before he knew it, Quan found himself almost falling head first into the fountain. Luckily, he was able to regain his footing before his head was tapped from the water's sprays. Glaring up, he snarled when he saw what appeared to be an albino cackling as he was chased by a blonde who was yelling in his direction in frustration. Scowling, he realized why they looked so familiar, however Quan honestly couldn't care less when it came to remembering their names.

"Quan, are you okay, _mi amigo_?"

'_So much for nothing horrible happening so early…'_ the Vietnamese boy thought to himself irritated. He whipped his head around and saw a panting Antonio who was slightly bent over and clutching at his knees as he tried to catch his breath. "No need to worry," he responded calmly. "I'm fine."

"You almost fell in the fountain – I'm sorry for Gilbert and Francis bumping into you like that!" Antonio rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he gave a little grin.

Sadly, that grin didn't really settle Quan's irritation, in fact, it made him bristle slightly – he wasn't in the mood in seeing his idol so quickly and with that perpetual smile of his, either. He then inquired, "Your friends?"

"_Sí_," beamed Antonio as he nodded. "They're really nice, you know!"

"They could watch where they're going."

Hearing the cold tone, Antonio's smile faltered a little, however he spread it out as quickly as he could so as not to show how put off he was becoming by the other male's coldness. It was a new day – maybe the stylist fell out of the wrong side of his bed? Antonio thought so, anyway. "Hey, let's get into homeroom together!" suggested the Spaniard.

Quan arched an eyebrow, "Together?"

"Yeah!"

"I think not."

"Huh?" Antonio blinked in shock at him. "Why not?"

Quan tilted his neck, causing it to make a cracking noise from a possible bone – the noise made Antonio visibly flinch. Seeing him recoil without a smile on his face, the stylist was almost tempted to smile in amusement, however he kept it in and answered back, "I told you to stop pretending that you like or even show the least amount of interest in me." With that, he continued his way into the school building.

"This again?" groaned Antonio. "Wait up!" he ran after Quan who began to speed up his pace. "Hey, where are we going?" the Vietnamese stylist was actually faster than he looked – he was power-walking, and he was already covering a large amount of ground. "Are we in the same homeroom together?" he was able to jog up to his side. "Do you know where _Magdalena _is?" he smiled again as per usual as Quan took his timetable from Ms Katyusha; Antonio following suit.

Meanwhile, Quan felt his patience starting to run thin. He didn't want to spend time with this aspiring idol other than assignments or projects that conspired with the composer and idol students, however it seemed that the Spaniard had other plans. The golden-eyed Asian didn't like this charade continuing on, and so he changed his course; he hurried his pace, and hastened his step.

Eventually, he rounded a number of corners, went through a couple of corridors, and finally, after fleetly skimming past a couple of wandering students, Quan finally came down a staircase and reached Ms Katyusha at the front desk.

She looked really confused by his panting being, "Oh, there you are again! I was wondering what was happening between you and Antonio!"

"I was trying to lose him, that's all," responded Quan curtly.

"Lose him?" the secretary seemed even more highly perplexed. "Why?"

Quan spoke nonchalantly, "I just wanted to be alone for a moment; he wouldn't leave me alone."

"Is everything alright, dear?" she questioned worriedly, her baby blues genuinely concerned. "Everything alright at home?"

Quan nodded, "Yes, of course. Everything's fine. I just want to be alone for a little moment, that's all."

"Oh…"

Either way, he bid the secretary adieu as he made his way to the stairs again, when he heard a voice call triumphantly, "Aha! There you are!"

Quan almost jumped out of his skin, however he smacked a hand on his forehead as he gave a little, annoyed groan. However, he suddenly came upon a shocking sight of Antonio waving at him while seated on the stair's banister, "Now I've found you! Just stay put, I'm coming!"

"As if," the golden-eyed Asian grumbled. "He should get down before he hurts himself, that fool…" However before he could leave, there was a strange, cackle and odd laugh that settled in his ears.

"_Kesesesese_!"

"_Ohonhonhon~_!"

All of a sudden, the albino and the blonde from earlier that almost knocked Quan into the fountain at the front of the school, bumped into Antonio from behind, causing the Spaniard to give a yelp before all three of the boys slid down the banister.

Needless to say, Quan felt his heart freeze in horror when he saw Antonio fly off the banister's end and land right on his front on the carpeted floor. He instantly ran over and exclaimed, "Antonio! Are you alright?"

The Spaniard certainly looked dizzy, however he shook his head upon coming face-to-face with a pair of suddenly worried honey gold eyes. His grass green orbs glowed upon seeing that concern spark right into the cold Asian's hues. He grinned as he nodded, "Fine, I'm fine! But, you do worry!"

"_Anyone _would worry when someone flies off a stair's banister," pointed out Quan, now looking irate. "What _was_ that?! Did you have a death wish or something?!"

"No," Antonio said innocently, causing the dark-haired stylist to visibly snarl, which made Antonio flinch a bit. "But it's faster than taking the stairs! You'd run away by then!"

"Why are you so determined on spending time with me?" demanded Quan sharply, starting to lose his patience. "Can't you take a hint that I _want_ to be alone at the moment?! I don't want you around me!"

Hearing that last bit, Antonio didn't know what it was, but he felt something inside him jolt unpleasantly, and the smile that he tried to form on his face disappeared. "O-oh…" he said quietly. "I see…" however when the Asian's stern words replayed in his mind, he then realized the last part, "_At the moment_? So does that mean I can be around you at another moment?"

Quan cursed to himself.

"_Kesesese_! That was _awesome_!" the Vietnamese boy felt like slapping his forehead as he looked up to see that the albino and the blonde were still planted on the banister, looking quite happy and satisfied with themselves. "Pure awesome! Let's go and do that again! Toni, c'mon!"

"I-I think not!" the Vietnamese boy didn't have to turn around to know who owned that soft voice that was barely above a whisper. Still, with a slight twitch on the corner of his lips, he turned around to look down at the bespectacled blonde. "Hello, Quan," Madeleine smiled weakly upon seeing him. "How are you?"

"Good morning, Miss Madeleine," he greeted. "Doing fine."

"Antonio, what happened?" the blonde composer questioned, worried. "I saw you fly!"

"Don't worry, _mi amiga_!" Antonio reassured as he began getting up. "I'm fine! It'll take more than that to bring me down!" he brushed at his arm.

Quan rolled his eyes while Madeleine sighed in relief, "That's good…I was very worried…" peering at the clock she then exclaimed, "Maple! It's almost time for homeroom to start! We better go!"

"2-A," said Quan calmly. "How about you?"

"I'm in 2-A!" exclaimed Antonio as he grinned. "We're in the same homeroom!"

Madeleine sighed sadly, "I'm in 4-C…"

Antonio frowned a little, "Oh…well, don't worry! I'm sure we'll see each other soon! Otherwise, let's all have lunch together!"

Her violet-blue eyes widened a little bit. She fidgeted a bit before asking quietly, "Are…do you mean that?"

The Spaniard arched his eyebrows in surprise, "Of course! Why? Do you think I'm joking?" he then looked pointedly at Quan who simply glowered icily at him. "Well, I don't know about _señor del hielo_ here, but I do mean what I say! I want to spend time with my composer and stylist!"

Madeleine seemed reassured upon seeing how sincerely Antonio's emerald eyes were shimmering, as well as the warmth that his smile radiated.

Quan himself was beginning to become highly confused; by now, he thought that his attitude would put off the Spaniard, and make him show his true colours, but…here he was; actually putting up with him, and still smiling happily. The Vietnamese boy didn't want the upset feeling that was nudging in his stomach, so he tried to throw it down to prevent it from overtaking his being. _'He can't…he can't _possibly _be serious in wanting to know about me…can he?' _he wondered as he saw Antonio suddenly spoke good-naturedly to Madeleine a bit more. _'Hmm…'_

"Oi, Toni!" the albino drawled. "Not cool that you just ignored us like that!"

"_Oui_," agreed the blonde with him; Quan noticed that he had stubble on his chin. "Especially with such a cute little lady and a rather dashing man in your company."

Quan's mind fell on a bit of a blank when he heard the last part of the blonde male's statement, while Madeleine's face exploded to a cherry red. Antonio simply laughed good-naturedly, "Oh, Francis, Gilbert…come over, _mis amigos_! Meet my new friends!"

'_Friends?'_ Quan's golden eyes widened in shock. _'He still thinks I'm his friend despite my hostile treatment of him?' _he glanced at the Spaniard. _'Either he's very forgiving, he's very stupid, or he's a schemer…'_

"The name's Gilbert! Gilbert Beilschmidt," the albino smirked as he jerked a thumb at himself. "The epitome of awesomeness itself at your service!"

"Madeleine," the bespectacled blonde said with a light scowl crossing her features upon the arrogant air surrounding the albino.

"Nice to meet you, Birdie!" Gilbert smiled.

Madeleine arched an eyebrow, "Birdie?"

"_Ja_! Birdie!" Gilbert then turned to Quan. "How about you? What's your name, hard ass?"

Quan looked absolutely affronted, "I beg your pardon?"

"Gil, don't talk to him like that!" Antonio spoke up now sounding a little stern, much to Quan's shock. "That's my stylist you're talking to!"

"Can't help it, Toni!" Gilbert said now lifting his head up as he glowered down at the Vietnamese male. Though Quan felt a little threatened, he stood his ground, and simply glared back up at him; determined to not show any hint of weakness. "After all, he just _reeks _of hard ass…"

"Now, now, Gilbert," Francis shook his head. "That is not how you treat such a handsome man." He smiled in a charming way in Quan's direction as he came forward and held his hand out, "_Bonjour_, _mon cher_. _Je m'appelle _Francis."

"_English_, Francis," Antonio spoke up as he scratched his head with a sheepish chuckle. "I don't think he-"

"_Bonjour_, _monsieur _Francis. _Je m'appelle _Quan. _Je suis tr__ès heureux de faire votre connaissance_."

Antonio could only blink as he stared at the Vietnamese boy. His jaw slowly dropped to the floor while Madeleine quirked an eyebrow in slight surprise, while Gilbert arched _both _of his eyebrows; clearly just as shocked as the Spaniard.

Despite Quan's accent somewhat sounding a little strange in some of the parts of his French, Francis was still delighted at hearing the country of his beloved home country tumble out from the Asian's mouth. He smiled widely; showing pearly whites, "_Tu parle francais_?"

Here, the golden-eyed stylist shook his head, "No; that's as much as I know…as well as asking for directions…"

"Still, you have certainly captured my attention, _mon ami_," Francis chuckled and gave a bit of a coy smile as Quan took his hand and shook it. "_Ohonhon_~" he gave that laugh that was traced with his French accent. "You have a _very _strong grip there, _monsieur _Quan!"

Quan arched an eyebrow, but shrugged one shoulder.

Still, the bell rang uproariously, which caused Madeleine to give a bit of a squeak, and for Katyusha to actually yell in alarm. The poor secretary apologized over and over again tearfully for scaring the students. The students however, quickly reassured her that she didn't scare them at all, and made their way towards their homeroom classrooms.

"So, Birdie what room you in?" grinned Gilbert as he wrapped an arm around the Canadian girl's shoulder.

Madeleine scowled a little as she ducked under his large arm and stood closer to Quan, "4-C."

"4-C, huh?" Gilbert arched an eyebrow at her action, but nonetheless kept his cocky grin going. "Next door to the awesome me! I'm in 4-B!"

Francis heaved a sigh as he rolled his baby blues, "You do not have to shout it out, Gilbert…" still, when he turned to look at Quan, he smiled, "How about you, Quan?"

"2-A," replied Quan simply.

Francis heaved a dramatic sigh, "Ahh, such a shame! I am in 2-B!"

"He's in the same homeroom as me," smiled Antonio as he playfully nudged the dark-haired stylist. Quan gave him an unamused look.

However, what the Spaniard didn't know was that the Vietnamese boy had a storm of uncertainty flying around inside his being.

"2-A already here," Gilbert announced, causing Quan to blink and peer up at the door, which had a golden two and a placed on the front. The room was across from a terrace that overlooked a lovely garden with another fountain. "Later, Toni!" he then stared down at Quan. "Later, hard ass."

"Gil-" began Antonio, only to be cut off by the Vietnamese boy himself.

"See you later, Gilbert," he then slightly bowed his head. "It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Again, Antonio's jaw dropped at how the Asian was acting, but what he didn't expect all the more was when the dark-haired stylist began walking into the noisy classroom, stopped and craned his head around to face him, "Well? Aren't we coming inside?"

The Spaniard blinked in confusion, "_We…_?"

"Who else am I referring to?"

However, Antonio could've sworn that he saw something spark in Quan's eyes. In those honey-gold orbs, there seemed to be some sort of little twinkle that shimmered from within their glassy surface.

Quan was finally warming up to him!

"Okay~!" Antonio grinned widely. He bounded into the room and took a seat, patting the desk next to him, that was closer to the window. Quan simply obliged with a nod, and seated himself, as another person entered the room, who the Vietnamese stylist and Spanish idol only assume was their homeroom teacher.

It was a woman who was in her mid to high thirties at the very least. She had a flowing sheet of ginger hair with a messy fringe, and noticeably bushy eyebrows over a pair of blazing viridian eyes that glowered sharply at all the students in the room. She was wearing a cravat, some tights, and what appeared to be a dress shirt, as well as a pair of boots. She then whacked a ruler on the blackboard, while she boomed, "To your seats now! Cease your appalling behaviour!"

The students immediately complied while Antonio looked frightened. Quan himself looked noticeably surprised.

"Good morning," she said promptly. "I am your homeroom teacher, Mrs Kirkland."

"Kirkland?" wondered Antonio as he tilted his head. "I wonder if she was an idol, stylist or composer before…"

Quan shrugged, "Most likely; all the teachers here are from one of those categories."

"Really?" the Spaniard looked awed. "I didn't know that!"

"Is there something you boys want to share?" snapped Mrs Kirkland from the front.

"N-no, ma'am!" squeaked Antonio as he shook his head wildly.

Quan cleared his throat, "We apologize, miss – we're just excited and nervous for our first day, that's all."

Here Mrs Kirkland softened slightly as she nodded, "You are right to feel both – it _must _be a dream come true for some of you to come to this school. However, in order to be ultimately successful, one must work hard: and for that, work with their sweat, blood and tears!"

Antonio didn't seem to be happy to hear that; seeing his expression caused Quan to give a small chuckle in amusement – just by how funny the Spaniard's usually happy face became upon feeling fear.

Still, he tried to stifle it.

The green-eyed idol however noticed that Quan was trying to hold his laugh in, but seeing him with a more relaxed expression made Antonio's face immediately break out into a smile. When Quan noticed that Antonio had caught him, the golden-eyed Asian couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed, and so, his cheeks tinged with a slight red as he crossed his arms over his chest and gave a little shrug.

'_Maybe…'_ he thought to himself however as he glanced sideways at Antonio who simply laughed merrily just before Mrs Kirkland called their names off the role. He certainly didn't look like he was mocking him, or meant him any harm – he seemed to just be a genuinely good-natured guy.

Much like a Thai friend of his that worked in a bakery.

'_Well…it seems I was wrong about him. Hopefully he doesn't change my judgement, though.'_

While Mrs Kirkland continued calling out their names, Quan noticed that Antonio was poking at his rib with a folded piece of paper. Arching an eyebrow, the Vietnamese boy quickly took and unfolded it as he read its contents.

'_**Let's have lunch with Madeleine in the cafeteria! :D'**_

Quan stared down at the little smiley face that was drawn at the end of the sentence – there was a little tomato was doodled there, too. The Vietnamese male arched his other eyebrow before glancing sideways at Antonio, to see that the Spaniard was actually clapping his hands together in a sort of pleading gesture.

He was even giving him a pair of puppy dog eyes, and jutted his lip out in a slight pout.

This prompted the dark-haired stylist to roll his eyes, however he was amused at such an expression.

_'Things don't seem to be that bad.'_

He was able to sweep into his shoulder bag and take out a pen, to which he wrote swiftly, and threw it back at Antonio after Mrs Kirkland had glanced up momentarily and dropped her head down again to call for another name.

Antonio gazed at his note, and couldn't help the huge grin on his face.

'_**Let's have lunch with Madeleine in the cafeteria! :D'**_

Underneath in a much neater form of handwriting:

'**_I'm in_**_**.'**_

* * *

**Yup, Quan starts softening towards Antonio! 8D**

**Characters:  
- Gilbert = Prussia  
- Francis = France  
- Mrs Kirkland = Britannia**

**Translation/s [in order of appearance in story]:  
- _Wǒ ài nǐ _[Chinese] = I love you.  
- _Mi amigo/amiga _[Spanish] = My friend.  
- _señor del hielo_ [Spanish] = Lord of Ice.  
- _Oui _[French] = Yes  
- _Ja _[German] = Yes  
- _Bonjour_, _mon cher_. _Je m'appelle _Francis. [French] = Hello, sir. I am Francis.  
- _Bonjour_, _monsieur _Francis. _Je m'appelle _Quan. _Je suis tr__ès heureux de faire votre connaissance_. [French] = Hello, Mr Francis. I am Quan. I am very pleased to meet you.  
- _Tu parle francais?_ [French] = You speak French?  
- _Mon ami~ _[French] = My friend.  
**

**The next chapter will be their classes, I promise! XD **

**Peace out!  
- Hebi-Kazechi-10**


	5. First Class To Being Fabulous

**Another chapter coming your way! :D big thanks to the ones who were kind enough to drop a review! They help me on, even though there's a small number. XD**

Guest:** Thank you so much! :) the story is based loosely on Uta no Prince-sama which only had the idol and composer classes, but I wanted to add stylists as well because they don't get credited much, really. XD I took your feedback and added translations for all the chapters thus far. :D**

0-Jougen-Knight-0: **Again, thank you for your kind words. :) but yes! Quan is starting to soften towards Antonio. :D well, it's the BTT - they're pretty funny and get up to all kinds of mischief. 83 that topic will actually be touched upon a later chapter, but I'll say it right now that Quan is an independent student. Hehe, well I feel a person like Maddie wouldn't get interested or impressed with a guy with a big ego - Alfred has one, so I honestly don't think Maddie will be that impressed by it first. XD but stay in tune to see if Gilbert ends with Maddie or not. ;)**

**Happy reading~!**

**[Music Recommendation/s:  
- Fabulous by Ashley Tisdale (you'll see why XD)]  
**

* * *

Once the bell signalled for the first period, Antonio almost leapt out of his skin and fell off his seat.

"Now, move along to your classes quickly!" barked Mrs Kirkland abruptly as she began gathering her papers into a pile along with her clipboard rather hurriedly. "To those who are composers, I might see you very soon."

"Ah, so she's a composer!" Antonio snapped his fingers. "Okay, then! So _Magdalena _and Tino might be having her as a teacher!"

Quan simply shrugged one shoulder as he gathered his bag and slung the strap around his shoulder. However, he pulled out the timetable and student diary he gained from Ms Katyusha when he first came in and attempted to lose Antonio around the large academy. Peering down, he squinted his eyes a little as he brought it a little closer to his face. From what he could see, he had a double free period today followed by lunch, but that was after morning tea. After lunch was a double practical lesson.

However, for now…

"What have you got, Quan?" inquired Antonio as he peeked over the Vietnamese boy's shoulder to have a better look.

Quan simply gave a glance at the timetable that was in the green-eyed idol's hands, and answered in a brusque tone, "Nothing you have."

"Really? How can you tell that just by looking at my timetable for like a second?"

"The colours of the subjects on Monday on your timetable don't match any of the colours on my timetable for Monday."

Glancing down at his timetable again, Antonio could see that what his stylist said was correct.

Quan had what was labelled as _"Theory" _in light blue for his first period that took over one slot, and after that was something labelled as _"Study Period" _that was white, and also filled one slot. _"Lunch" _was also coloured white and filled two slots. Finally, Quan had _"Business"_ that was a bright yellow and filled one slot, while the final lesson of the day was _"Practical" _in a pale pink.

"You have a free period before lunch already today?" marvelled Antonio. "That's so lucky!"

The Vietnamese boy simply nodded his head once, "I suppose; if I get a lot of work, then it's a good time to catch up."

Antonio gave a sheepish chuckle as he tilted his head a bit, "That's not what I meant…but okay!" He then heaved a sigh as he raised his timetable up to Quan's face; almost accidentally smacking the piece of paper right in the Asian's nose. "I have so much stuff!" he exclaimed.

Quan wrinkled his nose a bit upon almost having his face whacked by a sheet of paper, but blinked right at it as he read. Antonio also had the lunch slot as the same colour like on Quan's slot for that day, however Antonio had different subjects: there was a red one that read _"Music practical"_ after lunch, while another in green read _"Musical theory"_ that took over one slot before lunch.

First thing in the morning however, was a dark blue slot that read _"E.C.A" _that intrigued Quan. He began to wonder what was going to happen during that lesson, and what sort of person would teach it. He was especially wondering just _what _those letters stood for in the acronym.

Antonio himself gave a nervous laugh at noticing where the dark-haired stylist was focusing their eyesight on. "I wonder about that, too!" he then rubbed his chin. "I mean…what do those letters stand for?"

Quan responded as he rubbed his own chin, "Seems interesting, but it definitely is a bit weird. E.C.A…."

"Easy class, alright?" Antonio asked hopefully; green eyes glowing.

"I wouldn't breathe so easily."

This just caused the Spaniard to give a little sigh.

Still, when Quan walked out of homeroom, Antonio followed closely right at his hip, which still somewhat disturbed and slightly irritated the Vietnamese boy. However, unlike before, much to Antonio's delight, the golden-eyed stylist didn't brush him off or try to run away from him like before. Instead, he just walked at a normal pace beside him and would even give some slight acknowledgement by giving a nod or shrug of the shoulder. Despite how half-hearted the shrug of Quan's shoulder was, the brunette idol was just happy that he was able to chip a bit through the Asian's icy surface.

Even though it was just a little bit.

Going to a hallway that led to several ways, Antonio had patted Quan on the shoulder and bid him farewell rather cheerfully – as well as remind him of having lunch with Madeleine in the cafeteria.

"You promise, right?"

Quan was rather taken aback at how serious the Spaniard looked, but gave a nod as he this time looked Antonio in the eye.

Bright emerald that suddenly shone a serious flame bore back at calm, golden glass.

"Yes, you have my word."

This instantly caused the serious blaze that burned in Antonio's eyes to simmer down to the warm and cheerful one it had as per usual. The idol beamed as he waved at him while leaving towards his own lesson, "_¡Muy bueno! ¡Hasta luego_!"

'_I can't understand Spanish at all,'_ Quan thought to himself as he narrowed his eyes a bit at Antonio's retreating form. _'For all I know, he might be insulting me without my knowledge…' _

It really didn't take him that long to get to his destination. The room labelled on the slot on his timetable had read _'Classroom 2-F'_, and so Quan found that he was near a room that was inside with no balcony or terrace – the huge, white-framed window overlooking a rose garden. The room across had a green door with a golden knob with the number and letter 2-F on it. Before he could turn the knob and enter the room, however, a voice called out to him.

"Hey, Quan! What's up?"

The voice definitely sounded familiar, and so when the dark-haired stylist turned to face the speaker, found a pair of sharp, white fangs grinning back at him. "Hello, Dracul," greeted Quan politely. "You are also here for theory?"

The strawberry blonde nodded, "Yup, yup! So, let's go in!"

'_Was about to,' _Quan thought to himself in slight amusement. He nodded and complied with what he was doing. He motioned to the red-eyed boy to go inside first, which Dracul did, and the two entered.

The classroom inside was actually _really _large – leading to that of an auditorium. There was a huge screen right at the front, and chairs surrounded all over in a semi-circle as they were neatly arranged on a slope with strips wide enough for people to walk up and down to get in and out of class. There was appeared to be some sort of metal desk at the front, right under the screen with a projector.

Dracul whistled, "Damn…this place certainly doesn't disappoint when it comes to size!"

Quan himself was marvelling at the large auditorium – definitely impressed. However, upon feeling a nudge from Dracul, he followed him to a spot right at the middle at the second last row close to the top so they could have a good look of below.

"Look like it could fill two hundred students!"

Quan nodded, "That's a pretty good number."

"Hey, look," the red-eyed stylist said as he pointed at a familiar figure who entered the huge classroom. "Isn't that Lovino?"

Quan squinted his eyes to try and get a better look, and saw that the olive skin, the sunglasses and the scowl were pretty much unmistakeable. He nodded, which caused Dracul to wave his arm around enthusiastically as he tried to get the Italian to come over. The Italian however gave a scowl as he looked in their direction. He then sat alone at the front, on the right hand side of seats.

Honestly, the Vietnamese stylist expected that.

"Hey, he snubbed me!" Dracul looked incredulous. "The guy actually snubbed me!"

"Don't worry about it, Dracul," Quan tried to reassure the now seething strawberry blonde beside him. "Just leave it. He's always in a bad mood it seems. Except when he's around women."

"_Ohh_…" Dracul snorted as he raised his head up, his nostrils flaring. "So, he's _that _kind of guy now, is he?"

It wasn't long before more people came inside and took seats after marvelling the huge auditorium classroom. Out of all of them, Quan noticed that lady-like girl clad in purple who insulted Gilbert upon their first meeting. She came entering with her head held high in the air as she sauntered to the row that was placed right in front of the golden-eyed Asian, and his red-eyed friend.

"Excuse me, but is this seat taken?"

Quan could just feel Dracul almost leap out of his skin. Admittedly, the Vietnamese boy himself was surprised from that new voice suddenly popping up, however he hid away his shock far better than his sharp-fanged companion. Gazing to his left, he saw that the owner of the voice was a young man with short, dark blonde hair, a narrow-shaped face and a pair of square glasses over a pair of dark green eyes.

'_Green eyes? Much darker than Antonio's,'_ Quan mused to himself. However he paused for a moment and arched an eyebrow, _'Hold on…_why_ am I even comparing them to Antonio's?' _after a brief moment of consideration, he shrugged, _'Well…he's model material; an idol is expected to be like that. I suppose that's why.'_

The bespectacled blonde boy gave a slightly nervous smile as he pointed at the seat beside Dracul. "Is that seat taken?" he repeated his question.

"Eh? No! Nah, it's not," Dracul shook his head, getting over his initial shock, and a grin instantly spread out on his face again. "Go ahead! Take it!"

The blonde must've noticed Dracul's more prominent fangs, for Quan noticed him jolt a bit and give a little yelp that sounded frightful. Seeing his green eyes dart over in his direction, the Vietnamese boy rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest, "Seat beside me isn't taken, either, but don't worry – Dracul won't bite you."

"Dracul?"

"Dracul Dalca!" the red-eyed boy continued; not noticing that he somewhat frightened the other boy. "Made in Romania!"

'_Ahh, so _that's _it,' _Quan thought to himself, feeling better that he now knew of his companion's nationality. _'The accent was bugging me for a while.' _Suddenly, he felt a hand pat his shoulder.

"And this is Quan! Quan Nguyen!"

"From Vietnam?" inquired the glasses-clad blonde.

"Because _all _people from Vietnam have the last name _'Nguyen'_, right?" questioned Quan as he arched an eyebrow.

This caused Eduard to squawk, "Ack! That's not what I meant! What I meant was, because your surname doesn't sound like it's from Japan, China or Korea! Japan always have a consonant then a vowel unless it's the _'n' _sound, and China slightly shorter surnames that would go first, much like the Koreans do, and-"

"Calm down," spoke up Quan hurriedly, now feeling a bit bad at how panicked he made the other boy. "I was only kidding; I don't really care for stereotypes. I'm actually happy that you recognize I'm Vietnamese rather than something else entirely."

"A-ahh," the blonde gave a sheepish smile as he rubbed the back of his head. Noticeably, his ears began turning red. "Sorry…I thought I offended you for a moment…"

"Enough of it," Quan said as he waved a hand dismissively. "Your name? What is your name?"

Here, this time the green-eyed boy cleared his throat and stood up straight as he properly made his posture. He then adjusted his glasses smartly as he responded, "My name is Eduard. Eduard von Bock."

Quan could _just _see a bit of a glint that reflected up at the corner of his glasses, too. "Because you are aware of our country of origin, do you mind telling me where you are from, Eduard?" he asked. "You have a bit of an accent that I cannot pinpoint…I'm pretty bad at pinpointing accents," he admitted in a sheepish afterthought.

Eduard however shook his head, "I don't mind telling you at all! I wouldn't blame you; there are so many countries in the world, so it's hard to really pinpoint a person based on their accent."

Quan couldn't help but feel the corners of his lips twitch upward – he was really starting to like Eduard already.

"I'm from Estonia."

"Estonia?" questioned Dracul as he tilted his head a bit, still smiling. "Interesting."

Eduard was about to respond, when suddenly, the door was slammed open.

Not closed, _open_.

And all of a sudden, there was a great flash of light from up, that shone right to the lone desk out the front near the huge slide projector and the controls. The next thing that happened was that the light was suddenly joined by a pair of pink lights – however, one was hot pink, while the other was a coral one. The middle light soon became pastel pink, much to everyone else's shock as they began murmuring in awe, confusion or a mix of both.

And before Quan knew it, there was the sound of something he did _not _expect, which made him turn his head.

"What was that?" asked Dracul as he looked around as well.

"Sounds like a horse's whinnying," responded Eduard, quite surprised himself.

"Not a horse!" announced a new voice that made everyone look around to the top.

Right there at the top of the stairs was a sight to behold. There was what appeared to be a young, blonde person who was atop of what appeared to either be a small horse or a slightly large pony. Its coat was a rich chestnut and finely brushed; the mane was also dark in colour with the tail matching. It was wearing an electric pink bridle, and a pastel pink saddle. It gave a snort as it raised its head up to let loose a loud whinny before it looked forward and started to gallop to the other side of the upper part of the top of the stairs.

Next, it just made a _slight _turn, and it leapt over the stairs. The tail and mane billowing around in seemingly slow motion.

Everyone just watched with dropped jaws and widened eyes with an awestruck remark or two here and there. But the animal then trotted to the front and _that _was when the spotlights all focused on the rider and the animal.

Quan squinted his eyes a bit as he tried to peer down at the rider. The rider was hard to see, but from where he was, the Vietnamese boy could see that the rider was a girl. A girl with straight, chin-length straw blonde hair, and green, almond-shaped eyes. They were wearing what appeared to be a pink hat, a rather fashionable black jacket with a hot pink fur collar, and rather short shorts, as well as white boots. The horse meanwhile had a fine, small head with a straight profile, and lively, deep brown eyes. A long, strong neck, sloping shoulders, and a deep wide chest, and well-muscled legs that were white socks.

Nevertheless, the golden-eyed Asian joined the applause that was given to the rider and the equine. The rider was laughing happily, "Thank you! Thank you! I'm so, totally glad that you liked my entrance!"

"She's really good, don't you think?" Eduard asked as he looked at the other two boys with him. "She's _really _good."

The rider then cleared their throat, "Ahem. Now, onto some business! My aspiring stylists, I'm your fabulous teacher, Feliks Łukasiewicz! But you can just like, call me Feliks, Mr Feliks, or Feli for short if you'd like! I totally don't mind!"

"Hold on…_Feliks_?" Quan noted to himself softly. That was when his eyes widened a bit…well, a lot.

Eduard's own jaw dropped, "She's…a _he_?!"

Dracul simply whistled, "_Damn_."

Mr Feliks gave a chuckle as he placed a hand to his mouth, highly amused at all the reactions to his gender. "Yes, I'm totally a man," he grinned impishly. "Didn't expect that, did ya, now? Well, I like, don't mind you calling me a girl; after all, I _do _pull it off quite well, don't I?"

"Sad to say, but he's right, there," said Quan remorsefully. Eduard nodded in sad agreement.

"Now," Feliks placed a hand on his hips as he glanced up, "You're here because you want to like, take up fashion in your future, right? Become totally famous stylists and designers? Well, here I am to help you along the way!" he clapped his hands happily as he then turned on the controls, as well as take out a bright pink laptop, which then projected what appeared to be a slideshow at the huge slide at the front. "Well, designing is glamorous and all, but being a stylist actually requires _way _more than that! You'll have to for one thing, keep your minds sharp in like, knowing about different materials; any legal and business laws just in case someone plagiarises your work, or like, rips you off with the materials."

During this time, Eduard looked rather shocked, while Quan hurriedly whipped out his notebook and began scrawling things down. Dracul himself just leaned back in his head, with his arms rested behind his head.

"You're not taking any notes?" Eduard asked him, appearing quite surprised.

"Nah," Dracul shook his head. "I tend to miss stuff when I focus on writing. I'm better off listening."

"Oh, and if you like, totally miss out on my lecture, there's a recording of it on the school's website!" added Mr Feliks. "Either way, you're gonna have to listen to me!"

Dracul nodded, "See?"

"So, what happens is that the stylist's course runs into several parts: theory, business, practical, tutorial, and collaboration," called Feliks as he went to the next slide which showed the five parts written. "Now, with theory, it's pretty straight-forward because it's like, theory: stuff you need to know for written exams. Theory, you learn about styles going through the ages, and terminology for the fancier and more fabulous stuff so you'd know what to design for a man or a woman. For example, the difference between a chunky, cone, covered and cowboy heel if you're working for a gorgeous girl; and how to _not _make a faux pas mistake to the glitterati!"

This time it was Quan who looked shocked. _'Faux pas, I know what that means, but _glitterati_?'_

"Faux pas?" Dracul inquired with an arch of his eyebrow, looking a bit confused.

"A false step," responded Quan as he scratched at his head with the rubber end of his pencil. "Basically, an error in judgement in style." For once, the Vietnamese boy was glad that Antonio was the idol he was working with: he was pretty sure that the Spaniard wasn't into wearing heels. Eduard looked quite nervous; beads of sweat were already popping at the side of his head. Quan felt quite sorry for him; he was pretty sure he was placed with a female idol, from what he could remember back at opening day.

"Business is what you could call, like, a piece of theory," continued Feliks as he came to a slide which showed what appeared to be a conference with people wearing pink suits, as well as a line graph that read _'Fabulousness level of new students throughout the year!'_ the line was pointing upwards, so it was pretty encouraging. "This is where if you most especially want to create your own business in the fashion industry! Also where you learn some basic business skills on how to run a company and how to conduct yourselves around your employees and employers as well as clients!"

"I'll do much better here hopefully," sighed Eduard as he wiped at his forehead. "My idol is female, so I _really _have to listen to the theory well!"

"Even with a male idol, it'd more advisable to listen to the theory that corresponds with girls and women," responded Quan as he tapped his pencil on his chin thoughtfully. "Because you might end up working with a female idol or model instead, or at least get a larger influx of female clients…"

"That's true."

"Practical is where you _really _do something!" said Feliks happily as he forwarded to a slide which consisted of photos of what appeared to be previous students who were creating outfits and drawing designs on a sketchpad. "You work only on your own creation because the academy provides all kinds of quality cloth and materials! You can even find accessories that are usually _extremely _expensive in stores here! Simply because we, like, want the best and top-notch stuff for our students!"

"What if somebody doesn't know how to sew or create clothes?" wondered Dracul.

"That would be impossible," said Eduard as he shook his head. "Shining World Academy only accepts the best, and in order to fit the stylist course, the criteria includes being able to produce their own clothing whether it be from cutting, sewing, knitting or any self-serving method."

"But of course," much to Quan's shock, the lady in purple who called out Gilbert before, turned her head around to face them. Her face was serious as she gazed back at them coldly, "It would be difficult for a stylist if they don't know how to create things out of only materials, or simple and plain clothing. They should at least know how to sew; so they can sew things onto a plain shirt and produce a new creation."

"True," Eduard looked shocked by her interruption. "Um…"

"Rosaliese Edelstein. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise," responded Quan as he nodded, feeling his cheeks light up a bit when she fixed her gaze onto him.

Feliks spoke on, not looking at all bothered that Rosaliese had turned her head around and was speaking to the three boys. Instead, he just continued with the next slide, "Tutorials are when small groups of stylist students go talk to their mentor to, like, wrap up the week's topics and request for any help if they totally need it!"

"That sounds comforting to you, huh, Eduard?" Dracul grinned. "Just in case, someone can help you with all the girly terminology such as what the difference between a cowboy and covered heel is!"

Eduard simply sighed. However, Rosaliese tutted, "I would rather have a female idol than the ruffian I am partnered with."

"Gilbert, correct?" inquired Quan.

Rosaliese wrinkled his nose, "A brainless brute with an oversized ego. I cannot believe I have to work with him."

"You could try and swap with someone," said Quan. "After all, you are allowed to request for a swap or transfer in the beginning and end of the year of your school life. Or if someone's dropped out or transferred out of the school."

"Precisely, _dropped out_," said Rosaliese with a prim sniff. "Which I expect will happen to him in short time."

Quan couldn't help but give a snort from amusement rather than disdain, as he placed a hand to cover up his snicker. He couldn't help it; the albino called him a hard ass after all.

Seeing him give that response, Rosaliese arched an eyebrow, however her expression seemed to soften a bit upon seeing it. His reaction was intriguing, to say the least, "So, your name is Quan, correct?"

"Yes," the dark-haired stylist nodded.

"Collaboration is finally as how it's written," beamed Feliks onto another slide. "It's where the idol you're teamed up with is usually placed into a publicity event, so you then place your skills to the test! Like, for example – idols also can dance, model or act! So, obviously, it's your job to make them look good, but also use sensible choices!"

"Interesting," remarked Dracul as he tapped his chin. "So, _this _is what they meant with us working with our composer and idol."

Quan this time stopped with writing his notes as he peered up at the slide again as Mr Feliks this time came to another pink slide that was labelled _'Textbooks/Homework/Assignments!'_ notably, several people groaned upon hearing that. Mr Feliks then spoke up, "I know, I know; homework can be totally lame, but hey; assignments are practical and you're given a month or two to finish them! Homework is really just memorizing what you've learned in theory. Textbooks, you have two of them to buy, but they're easily buyable in the school's store!"

Eduard scrawled down in his diary as he grumbled, "Get textbooks in school store."

"Might as well go there next period," Quan murmured as he shrugged a shoulder.

"A study period, I presume?" inquired Rosaliese. Seeing him nod, she this time flashed what Quan swore was a _tiny _smile on her pale lips, "As of I."

"You, too?" Dracul grinned. "Me, too!"

"I see," Quan rubbed his chin. "So, we'll all be looking for textbooks after this period."

Dracul cracked his knuckles a bit, which made Eduard flinch in the seat beside him, "I just hope they're not _too _heavy. I don't wanna have a broken back by the end of the year!"

* * *

**We see one of Quan's teachers! :D it'd make sense that Poland would be a stylist. :)**

**Character/s:  
- Eduard von Bock = Estonia  
- Feliks Łukasiewicz = Poland**

**No translations this time! XD **

**Next chapter will cover on Quan's study/free period, as well as getting insight on what's going on with Antonio and Madeleine. ;) so, stay tuned!**

**Peace out!  
- Hebi-Kazechi-10**


	6. The First Day's Satisfying Descent

**Been quite a while since I've posted a chapter, but here it is! :D I'm currently overseas, so that explains why it's taking a while for me to post another chapter up. Anyway, thank you very much to those who reviewed, faved and followed! You help me keep on going. X3**

0- Jougen-Knight -0: **Yes! Poland and his pony makes an appearance! :D yeah, Estonia doesn't get enough love, so that's why I've made him part of the supporting cast. :) he also does end up with someone, but I'm not disclosing on who it is right now. ;) hehe, read a bit more about Nyo!Austria and Nyo!Vietnam's interactions. Yeah, I was quite confused myself - first time I've heard some of those terms. 0w0 well, here's what's happening with Madeleine and Toni! ;3**

solar-Eclypse: **Fear not! I am still writing, and ****I haven't abandoned this story! I'm nowhere close to abandoning it, seeing it's my only on-going story. XD thank you so much! I'll keep going! :D**

Guest: **I don't mind there only being 8 (now 9) reviews - because it shows there are people who do like my story, and I'm perfectly happy to continue for those people. :) thank you very much! :D**

**Happy reading~!**

**[Music Recommendation/s:  
**- **Amazing Kiss by BoA  
**- **Angels With Dirty Face by Sugababes  
**- **Rolling Girl by SquaDus]**

* * *

"Now, you are all here to be composers, correct? Because you want your work to be published, or be known, is that right?"

It was already the first lesson, but Mrs Kirkland was already jumping straight into the subject of musical terminology: particularly that of sheet music. Though Madeleine was starting to feel extremely nervous, it was more from how sharply her teacher was talking rather than the subject itself. Of course, it probably didn't help that Emil was starting to tense himself – he appeared highly taken aback whenever their redheaded teacher, who introduced herself as Mrs Kirkland, had sharply interjected about various musical terminologies. Of course, Madeleine herself was already accustomed to such – she had played the piano from a young age, and it was part of what helped her write music.

Emil on the other hand…

"Can you play an instrument?" Madeleine whispered to him; making her voice _extra _low so that Mrs Kirkland wouldn't catch them. The ginger-haired woman had already snapped at a couple of students who were giggling and loitering around; she actually scared them.

Emil almost jumped out from his seat, but whispered back upon realizing who had spoken to him, "Y-yeah, I can. I play guitar." He sighed, "But…this is really confusing the hell out of me…"

"It's a lot to wrap your heard around at first," agreed the Canadian girl. "But once you remember it all, it sticks by you."

"How about you?" questioned Emil quietly. "What can you play?"

"The piano," responded Madeleine. "I know – typical and boring."

"It's not," the silver-haired youth shook his head. "I think it's nice."

As Mrs Kirkland continued spouting more musical terms and pointed at the blackboard with some scratchy drawings, Madeleine looked carefully around the room and noticed the lack of a blonde with a white beret. _'Hmm…so I guess Tino doesn't share this class with me,'_ she thought to herself, a bit disappointed. He seemed like a nice and friendly guy – Madeleine certainly was keen on sharing classes with him. _'I wonder how Quan and Antonio are?' _she wondered to herself as she began doodling in her notebook since she already knew about music terminology.

Though she didn't reveal it as much as her love for music, Madeleine actually liked to draw – it was a little hobby of hers that she enjoyed. Even back in her old school, she would join the art classes and any art club there was. The Canadian girl adjusted her glasses by pushing them up the bridge of her nose, as the tip of her ballpoint pen scratched at the paper's surface; forming a round shape and cross-shaped guidelines that formed a head.

She wasn't really sure who or _what _she was drawing; however the head became more formed and soon, it had eyes and a nose. The eyes were sharp, and somewhat slanted with dark, prominent lashes, while the nose was somewhat flat against the face. The lips were starting to form into a thin pair with a slight shine, and the cheekbones were also becoming more prominent.

"That's amazing," breathed Emil as he leaned over a little. His violet eyes widened in awe, "Who's that?"

"To be honest," Madeleine blushed a little. "I'm not so sure…"

"It kind of looks like-"

"Now!" Mrs Kirkland barked, causing Madeleine to plant her arm over her scratchy doodle, and Emil to almost fall out of his chair. "Of course you'll have to know about musical terminology when it comes to composing; that's a no-brainer. However, in order to write a successful song, there are actually many ways to do so. For example: one way is to dig deep into a persona's psyche, and write something about it. Another is from a past experience. A more popular one these days is influence. Now, why don't we settle on these questions for now? I am aware that each and every one of you must have a different method. So, why don't we expand on that one? What inspires you? Is there a past experience that stands out? What is your favourite musical genre, or what artist's style appeals to you?" seeing some of the male students open their mouths, Mrs Kirkland added. "_Musical _style – not because they have large bosoms and thin waists, you perverted gits."

However, nobody seemed to be willing to speak up. Mrs Kirkland looked clearly irritated with the reluctance to talk, so the redhead heaved a sigh, "Fine. How about this? Get into groups of three to five, and amongst yourselves, discuss those questions." Picking up a piece of white chalk, she wrote in scarily neat handwriting in a fast pace on the board the following:

_**1. What is your method in writing music?**_

_**2. Are you influenced by past experiences or your own emotions?**_

_**3. What musical genre is the most appealing to you? What is considerably the easiest to write for you?**_

_**4. What artists inspire you?**_

"Now!" Mrs Kirkland clapped her hands. "Get on with it! Just turn around to the person behind or in front of you: I don't want any rearrangements to the room! There's another class after us."

And that was when the whole room started to shuffle. As if on cue, before Madeleine and Emil could look behind them, the people in front of them turned around; revealing a boy around Madeleine's age, and a girl that was shy Karina Galante from the first day: who was paired with two older students who looked like they were ready to duke it out.

The boy was wearing an indigo hoodie with golden lining and had a number fifty at the back. He was also sporting some denim jeans, and converse sneakers. He had short, blonde hair with what appeared to be a piece of hair sticking up, as well as sky blue eyes that twinkled behind a pair of clear glasses. He grinned as he gave a peace sign – his fingers forming to a V shape as he greeted, "Heya dude and dudette!"

"H-Hi," greeted Madeleine, feeling a bit taken aback at how friendly the guy in front of her was greeting them. She honestly was a little intimidated by him when she saw him plant himself on the spot next to Karina; he had the build of a typical high school jock.

"What're your names?"

"I'm Madeleine," responded the bespectacled blonde. "Madeleine Williams. You…?"

"Alfred F Jones at your service!" Madeleine could easily detect a rather casual American accent. He was certainly casual. "And who's your friend?" he nodded at Emil.

"Emil Steilsson," answered the Icelandic boy as he arched an eyebrow.

"I-I'm Karina," stuttered out the other girl. "Karina Galante."

Getting a better look at her, Madeleine could see that she had short, wavy brown blonde hair and innocent baby blues. She was also wearing a dark-coloured vest over a white-collared blouse with puffy sleeves, a long burgundy plaid skirt, and a dark grey neckerchief. She also sported a small burgundy hat and two bows on each side of her head. Speaking to them, the Canadian girl could also detect an accent – sounded European, however she wasn't sure just _where _in Europe.

"If you don't mind me asking," Madeleine said a little hesitantly. "Can you tell me where you're from?"

"O-oh!" Karina looked surprised. "I'm from Latvia!"

"Latvia? Oh! It's one of those Baltic countries, right?" Alfred piped up, suddenly looking excited. "I've got a good buddy who comes from one of 'em! Lithuania! I wonder how he's doing…" he then began to ponder; a fond look crossing his face.

"Oi! Save your chitchat _after _my lesson; commence with what's on the board!"

Needless to say, _everyone _jumped in their seats.

"Holy shit, man!" Alfred exclaimed. "She scared the crap out of me!"

"Refrain from such vulgar language, you!" Mrs Kirkland snapped, causing Alfred to straighten his posture. "Honestly…"

"Damn…" Alfred huffed a bit. "Ugh…"

"S-so, anyway!" Madeleine spoke up as she pushed her glasses up her nose again; honestly, Mrs Kirkland scared them down. "Let's answer the questions…number one: what is your method in writing music?"

"My method?" Alfred rubbed his chin. "Honestly, I just write whatever the hell comes to me," he laughed good-naturedly.

Emil did _not _look amused, "Seriously? That's it?"

"Yup! Why, what do you do?"

"Well…" Emil felt his face heat up upon the attention getting fixated on him. "I just write when I'm feeling down or happy…you know; drawing on emotions." Seeing their faces, Emil added, "I know it's cliché and crap, but…"

"It's not cliché," spoke up Madeleine as she shook her head. "I do that, too. And, with the second question – I actually _do _use past experiences at times. Specifically those that stand out."

Karina shyly added her input, "That's what I do, too; emotions are a key factor."

"Well, shit," Alfred sheepishly chuckled. "Now I feel like an idiot! Thanks a lot, guys!"

"I guess we just skip to question three then," remarked Emil. "So….favourite genre? What is the easiest genre to write?"

"Anything with a guitar," replied Alfred. "Country's probably my forte, but I can do some rock, too. What genre do I like the most? Well…pop, rock, R&B, hip-hop, country and jazz!"

"That's actually pretty broad," remarked Madeleine.

Alfred laughed, "I'm not _too _picky with my songs; it just has to sound awesome, and be really catchy with a good beat." He turned to Karina, "How 'bout you?"

Karina flushed a little, "W-well…I like pop myself."

"Sweet!"

"I prefer alt rock," remarked Emil. "And anything with a good guitar, too."

"You play guitar, too, dude?" seeing the silver-haired youth nod uneasily, Alfred exclaimed, "I do, too! I love my acoustic, but I can play some electric, too!"

"Well, I honestly don't mind," remarked Madeleine. "As long as it has meaningful lyrics, a beautiful melody, and lovely singing, then I'm going to add it to my playlist."

"Okay, last question!" piped up Alfred. "Favourite artists?" He then began to spout out a list of a couple of artists that Madeleine _really _did not like, so she turned her hearing off for a little while. She tuned in again when Alfred had bounced the question onto Emil by looking at him.

The Icelandic boy sighed, "Well…I actually like Lihua."

"Lihua?" Alfred looked confused for a moment, but suddenly his eyes lit up as he exclaimed, "Oh, wait! The chick from Hong Kong, right? She's also a model!"

"Y-yeah, her…" Emil blushed. "I like her music."

"She sang _'Amazing Kiss'_, right?" questioned Madeleine. Seeing Emil flush and give a nod, Alfred suddenly whipped out his iPhone and, after flicking through a couple of songs in his playlist, he pressed his index finger down and some music began to blare from the speaker. A rather glossy melody played out as a softened yet firm drumbeat followed. Along with a crisp and clear, young female voice.

"Tell me what you're dreaming about tonight," the voice's tone was somewhat soft, but also a bit dreamy and imploring. "I never want to let you go. The lips that kissed m lashes and your sleepy smile, sinking into the darkest night…"

"A breezeless flow in the afterglow, you and me together; we could go that extra mile," Emil finished, though his pale face became even hotter when he realized that almost _everyone _was looking at him in surprise and interest.

"You've got a nice voice, Emil," remarked Madeleine.

"T-thank you," the Icelandic boy stammered out. "But I'm not on par with the idols."

"Awww, come on, dude!" Alfred frowned. "Don't put yourself down like that! How do you even know that?"

"Hey, Karina and Madeleine never got to answer the question!" piped up violet-eyed boy, now looking annoyed that all the attention was drawn onto him.

Seeing that Emil looked genuinely uncomfortable in his position, and also sympathizing with him, Madeleine answered, "Well, again it really just depends on the song; because sometimes there _are _artists who only have one good song, and the rest don't sound…_that _nice. However, if there's an artist who I could name that I like, I'd say that it's JCM."

"The girl group, right?" Alfred then gave a dreamy sigh. "They're _awesome_."

He then flicked to another song on his iPhone, and this time, looming techno rhythm was there, as the drumbeat began to gather. Throughout that, a female voice whispered huskily, "Julchen…Julchen…Carmen…Carmen…Marianne…Marianne…"

Suddenly, when the drumbeat began to build, and a crash blew out, a female voice that was clearly a bit older and more mature smoothly flowed out, "I'm confused, I don't know, which way do I really go? This guy is fly, but another one pass me by. Stuck in the middle of this spot, that is too damn hot, shall I choose the one with the heavy car or not? 'Cause nothing ain't serious, see I'm only seventeen, and I wanna be mysterious. Naughty…"

"Sexy…" another female voice whispered huskily.

"On the creep, never sleep. Won't reveal the sneaky side of me!"

Madeleine began swaying her head around as Alfred suddenly belted it out along with the strong and feminine voices on the iPhone, "All day and night I creep out; I think about who I'm gonna go and link up. Don't think that I'm innocent, baby. 'Cause this is driving me crazy. Tell me what do you see? I'm not an innocent girl!"

Alfred grinned as he let the song continue, "They're really hot, too!"

"Who's your favourite member?" Emil questioned Madeleine.

"Honestly, I can't really pick," the Canadian girl blushed. "They're all amazing in their own way, and they're strong alone, too."

"I personally like Julchen!" grinned Alfred. "She's awesome! I love how she's wild and totally unafraid to get down and dirty!"

"I prefer Carmen," said Emil. "Because she's so down-to-earth and realistic, but also really nice."

"Well, because you're both picking, I choose Marianne, then," sighed Madeleine. Seeing Karina look a bit uncomfortable, the bespectacled blonde then exclaimed, "Oh! What about you, Karina? What artist do you like or inspires you?"

"U-um…" Karina blushed again, shuffling nervously in her spot with her hands clasped in her lap. "W-well…"

"Don't be afraid to tell us, dudette!" encouraged Alfred. "Everyone loves all kinds of artists!"

"W-well…" here, Karina's face became an _incredibly _bright red. She twisted at the hem of her skirt before answering, "I-I really like Pure-F."

"Pure-F?" Emil arched an eyebrow in surprise.

Madeleine then gasped, "Oh my maple! How could I forget him?!" she suddenly whipped out her own iPhone and flicked quickly past a bunch of songs. Eventually, she stopped at a song and played it. Immediately, a piano blared out in a fast, yet melancholic tune. Suddenly, when a guitar blared a single chord, the piano ran down chromatically in succession, causing a rapid drumbeat to let itself loose – with the snare hit at various times with the hi-hat.

A strong male voice, rich in tone and smooth in texture was then heard, "Lonely boy is always in a dream that never will be coming true. There's so much noise inside that head of his; he scratches it all around. He scratches it all around!"

Madeleine was instantly getting into the song as her fingers were flowing on the desk in accordance with the piano. Alfred himself was banging his head around while Karina swayed her heard around. Emil could only stare in shock at his companions.

"'_No problems,'_ the words came out so light," the rich and strong voice of Pure-F returned. "But in return, they've gone to the air. It's a mistake; no, it was a mistake! It's a matter of finding the odd one out in the end. It rolls again!"

"One more time, one more time!" Madeleine had raised her index finger up accordingly. "Each day I will be rolling one more time!" However upon opening her eyes, she realized that everyone was staring at _her _this time; some in shock, some in awe, some snickering. Immediately, the bespectacled blonde shrank back to her spot and almost hid herself under her desk.

* * *

"So he says, so he says as he plays the meaning of it to his spoken words! Are you ready yet? Not so ready yet; the future is still so far away to me, so I'm holding my breath just now!"

The first two periods had gone by in a flash; E.C.A. actually stood for _'Etiquette, Composure and Attitude'_ and it highlighted an idol's persona or how to conduct themselves during their career. It also highlighted about how to deal with stress and any other factors such as the pressure.

Antonio was ecstatic to find that he had the same class with Gilbert, however Francis was nowhere to be seen, much to his disappointment. Still, after some encouraging words from the tall, graceful and beautiful Ms Cleo who preferred being referred to with her first name rather than her surname, and highlighting the course as well as what books they'll be needing for the class, he and Gilbert headed quickly towards the cafeteria so he could meet up with Quan and Madeleine.

"Are you sure you're fine with that hard-ass as your stylist?" Gilbert questioned as he wrinkled his nose. "After all, he treated you like shit from what I saw before…"

"I think we just started off on the wrong foot," Antonio remarked. "I think he's just shy, to tell you the truth."

"He's not shy about being an asshole."

And now here they were, already starting to perform amongst the array of instruments that were at the central spot. Antonio had picked up a guitar and, after asking Gilbert if they could play the song he wanted to play, the albino Prussian seated himself at the drum-kit, and after the Spaniard plucked at the strings a few times to substitute for the piano chords, he joined in as he banged his head to the drumbeat he produced.

Before he knew, a crowd began forming around Antonio as lunch was being served to people in the cafeteria. However, many seemed more interested in the handsome, green-eyed brunette that was playing and singing in a rich and strong voice.

"That rolling boy is faraway in wasteland beyond the colours you can't reach," Antonio's voice called out as his face pulled down to a slightly pained expression; his emerald eyes shutting softly. "Those overlapping voices in the air. He mixes them all around; oh he mixes them all around!"

Opening his eyes as he reached the chorus and spotting an Asian with dark hair, golden eyes and with a serious and nonchalant expression etched on his face, Antonio waved his arm around enthusiastically.

Quan himself simply arched a pencil-thin eyebrow as he entered the cafeteria with Dracul and Rosaliese. He was a bit surprised to see Antonio among the instruments straight away, but then again…now that he thought about it, it really wasn't much of a surprise. Antonio was very outgoing, so him performing in front of people didn't seem really that out of the blue.

"Quan, isn't that your idol?" Rosaliese questioned as she narrowed her amethyst orbs. She scowled, "And there is that ruffian on the drums…how quaint…"

"Hey, I think I recognize this song!" piped up Dracul. "Isn't that…that's the new song that Pure-F released, right?"

Quan nodded, "Yes; that's his single – Rolling Boy. It's ranked number two on the charts."

"I see," sniffed Rosaliese primly. "I am not associated with Pure-F's works, but I've heard a great deal about him. His vocal capacity – if anything to go by your idol's, Quan – seems to lean towards the superior scale."

"Antonio performing Rolling Boy, huh?" Dracul grinned fangs. "Well, looks like we can now see how your idol rolls, Quan!"

Rosaliese glared icily at the Romanian student, "That wasn't funny at all." Fixing her focus onto the performing idol student again, the Austrian stylist then remarked, "It seems he is devoting this song to you, Quan."

"D…devoting?" Quan was highly taken aback. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, he is looking straight at you and is gesturing right at you, for one thing."

Sure enough, once Quan focused his attention onto his idol again, he saw that much to his astonishment, that Antonio's gaze was solely lying onto him. He was continuing in that powerful voice as his expression softened a bit more again. "_'No problems'_ the words came out so light," Antonio grabbed the mike as he shut his eyes again. "But now they vanished without a trace. He said, _'I don't give a damn! So come and make some mistakes with me.'_ Oh, he tempts me on this hill road!"

On the very last word, he made an impressive run up then down on the notes before the instruments picked up again. Antonio winked in Quan's direction, however it caused a lot of girls who were observing to squeal in delight and fan themselves. Quan himself felt his cheeks heat up, however he glowered back at the Spaniard – looking very much unamused at the gesture.

"One more time, one more time!" Antonio raised his hand up; his index finger sticking up. "_'I beg you to roll me one more time!' _So he says, so he says as he plays the meaning of it to unspoken words! Are you ready yet?" he tilted his head, then raised another hand as if to halt something or someone. "Just one moment; soon I will be able to see something. So, I'm holding my breath just now…"

"Just once more," Gilbert bellowed out above his drumming. "Let me roll all around…"

"One more time, one more time!" Antonio raised his hand up again with his index finger sticking up. "Each day I will be rolling one more time! So he says, so he says as he plays the sound of laughter to his spoken words!"

"As you say once again," Gilbert banged his head; his voice gritty and hoarse, though somehow fitting alongside Antonio's strong, melting and rich tone. "In the words I can't hear…"

"Are you ready yet? Are you ready now? You must be so sick and tired of this," Antonio went back to strumming again on the guitar.

"Just let me take a breath," Gilbert's voice belted out. "Before I fall to earth!"

"So, I'll stop my breathing," Antonio's eyes shut again before all the instruments stopped on the final line. Upon that final line, he bowed his head as his emerald eyes flew open again, "Just now."

Once the performance was over, there was applause everywhere in the cafeteria. Antonio grinned as he nodded, "_¡Muchas gracias_! Thank you!" after carefully discarding the guitar back onto its place, he immediately ran up to his Vietnamese stylist. "_¡Hola_, Quan!"

"Hello," the golden-eyed Asian answered back simply.

"So…what'd you think?"

"Why does my opinion matter?" Quan questioned, arching an eyebrow.

Antonio inwardly groaned; he's so cold again? However, he knew now that as long as you were determined and sincere, the Vietnamese student would act accordingly. The Spaniard then pouted, "The performance, of course! What'd you think? I want to know what my stylist and friend thinks!"

Quan's eyes slightly widened a bit upon hearing that last part. So, the Spaniard still thinks of him as a friend, then? The dark-haired stylist cleared his throat, "W-Well…" he averted his eyes away from the green-eyed brunette. "It seems that you _are _more than a pretty face, after all."

"Pretty face?" Antonio blinked. However, a big, bright smile instantly spread out on his face, "You think I'm attractive?"

Quan rolled his eyes, "That's _not _what I meant." However he couldn't help but feel some of the heat gather to his cheeks; for that, he tried to squash it down as hard as he could. "Obviously most idols are model material, so it's not a surprise. But…" he cleared his throat again. "You _do _have an amazing voice." Seeing the twinkling glimmers in the Spaniard's grass green eyes, the Vietnamese student heaved a sigh, "If you're wondering whether or not I'm impressed; I actually am. Quite impressed."

Hearing that seemed to instantly brighten the brunette idol – he looked _ecstatic_. "_¡Muchas gracias_, _mi amigo_!" he piped up.

"How about you, prissy princess?" Gilbert asked, smirking at Rosaliese. "I was awesome, wasn't I?"

Rosaliese rolled her eyes, "You want me to lie to you, then?"

"Hey!" Gilbert exclaimed, clearly offended. "That's so not awesome!"

"What happened in here?" Madeleine finally entered with Emil and Karina – the Latvian girl was hiding behind the both of them, while the Icelandic boy had a hand on his hip. "There's a large crowd."

"Should've been here," Dracul beamed. "There was a pretty cool music performance by Antonio and Gilbert."

"And…what were they performing?" inquired Madeleine.

"Rolling Boy by Pure-F."

Upon hearing that, Madeleine and Karina instantly perked up. Antonio grinned and waved at the Canadian composer. The bespectacled blonde sighed sadly, "I can't believe I missed out on that! I love Pure-F, and that song is one of my favourites, too."

"Mine, too," said Karina softly with a small smile.

"I can perform when it's just us if you'd like, _Magdalena_," offered Antonio. "I can bring my guitar in, and we can sit outside or something. I'm sure Quan doesn't have any objections to that, right?"

"No, I don't mind," Quan responded with a half-hearted shrug of his shoulders.

Lunch consisted many different kinds of food on offer – a sort of buffet, really. Quan had picked out some noodles and a piece of beef steak with some water while Antonio had chosen what appeared to be a couple of tomatoes and a beef steak as well. Madeleine herself picked a quiche and also grabbed some noodles. Gilbert had yanked Rosaliese and Karina over, and immediately tried seating himself beside Madeleine. The Canadian girl however simply shuffled closer to Quan until she was practically almost touching his arm.

Upon noticing this, her face broke out into a very vivid shade of cherry red; especially upon him glancing down at her questioningly.

"Hey, can we sit here, too?" Dracul asked with a grin after he gained his food. Emil also gained what appeared to be mackerel and some cola. They were joined with a tanned young man with spiky and wavy dark hair, big, brown eyes and a pearly smile that contrasted well against his darker skin. He was wearing a simple, black singlet with blue lining, and dark trousers along with some sandals. He introduced himself as Mitchell Mancham – the idol to Dracul and Emil, and he came from Seychelles.

"You like Pure-F, Antonio?" inquired Quan.

The Spaniard looked up with his cheeks slightly bulging from his tomatoes, but after swallowing, he nodded, "_Si_! I really like him! He's one of my most favourite idols!"

"Mine, too," smiled Karina fondly.

Madeleine nodded, "Same here."

"I think it's safe for us to say that most of us like Pure-F," laughed Mitchell. "I was actually listening to a song of his before coming here."

"Which one?" inquired Karina, looking quite eager much to Rosaliese and Gilbert's collective shock.

Mitchell raised his phone, "Love Song."

"I heard that!" Alfred suddenly bounded in, almost crashing right into Quan who bumped into Madeleine.

"Watch it," snarled Quan, not looking amused.

"Pure-F, right?" Alfred asked excitedly. Noticing Madeleine, Karina and Emil he greeted happily with a wave, "Hey, we meet again!" he then turned his head around, "Yo, Eddy! Come over here! I'm sure she'll come eventually!"

Much to Quan's surprise, Eduard came into view. The Estonian boy's eyes widened, however he looked quite happy to see the Vietnamese boy, the Romanian student, and the Austrian stylist there, too. He instantly planted himself on Quan's other side and greeted him accordingly.

"Who are you waiting for?" questioned Rosaliese as she arched an elegant eyebrow.

"Well, my idol," responded Eduard, though Quan was surprised to see the Estonian stylist's face suddenly heat up. He quickly pushed his glasses up his nose and nodded, "She hasn't come yet…"

Lunch was spent with everyone conversing casually – it started with Pure-F, then it moved on to another idol: namely a female one named Li Hua who seemed to make Emil blush frequently, which caused Antonio to squeal in delight that his face looked like a tomato. The Icelandic boy was _not _amused with that, so Madeleine quickly changed the subject into what was going on in everyone's course and day. Gilbert immediately responded eagerly, however the Canadian girl didn't seem so interested – she then pointedly asked Quan how his day was, and what was involved in a stylist's day so far. A bit surprised at the attention on him, the Vietnamese boy responded accordingly before Gilbert cut in again. Rosaliese sharply interjected by telling the Prussian albino that it was rude and poor sportsmanship to interrupt someone who was already talking.

Because of that, Quan couldn't help but gaze at her – he was amazed to see a small, knowing smile form on her pale lips.

For that, he felt the corners of his lips twitch upwards, too.

The rest of the day proved to be leisurely and relaxing: coming into practical, Quan saw Mr Feliks yet again, and was coupled with Eduard and Dracul – the latter waving at him ecstatically from his spot at one of the large, circular desks in the pink room. Much to the Vietnamese boy's disappointment, Rosaliese wasn't there.

'_Hold on…_why _am I feeling disappointed?' _

Regardless, when the day was over, Quan saw Antonio and Madeleine again at the front. The Spaniard chirped, "How do you get home?"

"Train and a walk, that's all," responded Quan tonelessly. Antonio's eyes shining right at him, the Vietnamese stylist heaved a sigh as he questioned tiredly, "What about you?"

"I catch two buses," the brunette idol responded; satisfied that the golden-eyed Asian responded to him. "How about you, _Magdalena_?"

Madeleine adjusted her glasses, "Well…I catch a bus and a train."

"Sounds far," remarked Quan. "How long does it take you to get here?"

"Well…two hours actually."

"_Two _hours!" gasped Antonio. "_¡Ay Dios mio_! That's really long!"

"You get used to it," Madeleine shrugged. "I'm perfectly alright with it; I've always woken up earlier in the morning, anyway."

Going their separate ways, Quan caught sight of his idol and composer waving at him before he entered the station and ran his ticket. Before he knew it, he felt his hand raise up by itself and give a small wave. Antonio grinned widely while Madeleine blushed a little, though she herself was smiling.

And before he knew it, when he caught his train, much to his surprise, Quan found himself smiling, too.

Yong Soo had remarked upon it when he reached home. Mei had even piped up excitedly as well. "_Dàgē _is really handsome when he smiles!" giggled the little girl. "You should smile more often!"

Quan instantly denied the notion that he was handsome.

* * *

**End of chapter. :) but we'll skip forward a few days or so, until we reach something eventful - which would be the first collaboration between composer, idol and stylist. :D**

**Also, I know that there's some Nyo!Vietnam x Someone Else, however the idea of the story is for the relationship between Quan and Antonio to form by itself rather than instantly hitting it off: because most relationships don't really work with the whole _'falling in love at first sight'_ ideal. At least, that's how I feel. So until then, Quan and Antonio may find interest with other people (possibly even date some) at first. XD**

**Next chapter: a stylist practical with Quan, Dracul and Eduard as they discuss some things on life; Madeleine "studying" with Emil, Karina and Alfred in the library while watching a Pure-F video; Antonio's head wrapping around the books.**

**I'm not sure if anyone can recognize the idols that are mentioned - don't bother with Pure-F as he's made up. XD still, opinions? :3**

**Peace out!  
- Hebi-Kazechi-10**


	7. Studying Life and Not So Studying Others

**Well, now I'm back in college for first semester! I have two days off, so hopefully I can balance out my studying and writing things up. :) anyway, sorry for the long wait! TT7TT **

**If you're waiting, you might wanna check out my other Hetalia fic** _Fantasy_ _Glamour _**which is a human!fantasy!AU where the Hetalia characters are either human or a mythical creature of some kind (e.g. Spain is a fairy, and Ms Vietnam is a dragon 8D). For **_Fantasy Glamour_, **I'm thinking of making alternate endings for who the protagonist ends up with, so just stay tuned! ;D**

**Anyway HUGE thanks to those who faved, followed and reviewed! :D that really means so much! :)  
**

Dora-nichov Russian Werewolf: **Thanks! :) I'm fond of both Vietnam and Nyo!Vietnam. :D**

0- Jougen-Knight -0: **Yes! Here's another! Thank you so much for the kind words! TT7TT yeah, I liked making Maddie friends with them - it just clicked to me! :D read to find out if you're right~ ;) I won't reveal on Pure-F much here, as it'll spoil the story, but I _will _say is that he's important. ;D yes! I couldn't help but add that in! XD yes, Quan and Antonio may take interest in other people first before they start to realize they have feelings for each other - because after all, love just doesn't "click" like that. At least not to me, anyway. Again, thank you very much! :D**

**[Music Recommendation/s:  
- Glamourous by Fergie  
- Love You Like a Love Song by Michael Zhonga]**

* * *

"What song are you humming over there, Dracul?" questioned Eduard as he turned a page in one of the textbooks. "It sounds quite unfamiliar."

"Eh?" the Romanian stylist blinked his scarlet eyes, and gave a good-natured laugh. "Ahahaha! I wouldn't be surprised if you hadn't heard of it! I tend to listen to more low-key bands and artists, actually."

"Low-key?" Quan arched an eyebrow. It had already been a fortnight and three days since the official first day of classes in Shining World Academy, and the dark-haired student found that things were going along quite smoothly. Though he expected the copious amounts of work as well as getting assigned to make a design for something for Friday of this week already, it was definitely something he couldn't handle.

Mr Feliks was a rather enthusiastic individual when it came to fashion, and he encouraged their curiosity and loved to indulge them with information as such. Quan had him for his practical lessons, and Mr Feliks was quite eager to check over his students' works and discuss with them as well as give some advice before reminding himself something that Principal Romulus Vargas had told him before. Something about not _'over-indulging' _them or giving them _'too much' _information and advice with their works so their artistic minds could stretch out during work.

Regardless, Quan didn't mind when Mr Feliks offered help, and took it; he was still reasonably new to the world of fashion, and was determined to be taken seriously in his course. Eduard, too, didn't waste time to ask their stylish teacher all sorts of questions and seeking his advice. This seemed to make Mr Feliks quite happy, though.

"I'm not a hipster, though," Dracul said as he waggled a finger while inspecting a piece of what appeared to be silk blue cloth in between his fingers. "Hmm…hey, this feels quite nice! Would make nice sewing material!"

"For a shirt?" inquired Eduard.

"If there's enough," Dracul responded with a nod of his head.

"You didn't answer the question, though," remarked Quan as the lead tip of his pencil scratched against the surface of his sketchpad's paper. "What song is that, anyway?"

"It _does _sound vaguely familiar," agreed Eduard as he rubbed his own chin. "If the name is known, maybe we'll be able to know what that song is."

"Doubt it," Dracul shrugged his shoulder. "But if you wanna know, then okay. It's '_I'm So In Love With You'_ by Celsius."

"Celsius?" Quan simply arched one eyebrow in question while Eduard raised both of his, "Celsius?"

"Yup, Celsius," Dracul nodded as he licked his lips. He then found what appeared to be pieces of shining green. The Romanian stylist looked excited, "Ooooh! These would look nice as scales!"

"Scales?" Quan gave a small chuckle in his throat as he started scribbling a scaly pattern on the side of the page – close to the binder. He had already started work by drawing the outline and body of a male that would suit Antonio's build: broad-shouldered and with a good amount of muscle on the chest and arms, but slim at the waist and with long, lean legs.

Though honestly, the golden-eyed Asian felt rather hesitant when he tried to draw the body shape that matched his idol at first, though.

"Yeah, scales!"

"But Celsius?" Eduard seemed surprised. "I do know who they are! They're that Asian boy band, aren't they? They're not low-key!"

"I would have to agree with Eduard here," Quan didn't look up from his sketch, though. He simply tapped the rubbed end of his pencil on his chin before sketching soft lines around the blank male's waist – creating a band that soon formed into pants. "Celsius is a popular boy-group: definitely well-known."

"I know _that_," Dracul rolled his eyes before giving a huff. "But I'm not talking about the _current _Celsius. I'm talking about the _old_ one!"

"Old?" Eduard seemed even more surprised than he was before.

Quan himself seemed quite interested, "I'd like to know that, too. What do you mean by _'old'_?"

"Well, you know they're made of four members, right?" Dracul asked. Seeing his two friends nod, the strawberry blonde continued, "Well, back when Celsius first started, there were four guys, yeah. They weren't really known back then. Then two of them quit for reasons unknown, and so of course Celsius went looking for two other members. Then, all of a sudden they began to become more and more popular!"

"Ah, I see," Eduard nodded in understanding as he pushed his glasses up his nose. "So _that's _what you meant. But, wow! I didn't know that Celsius didn't start out like that before. I thought Celsius always started with those four."

Dracul shook his head now looking a little annoyed, "No, they didn't. Golden Dragon and Emerald Mantis weren't part of it when Celsius first started. They replaced the two members that quit."

"I see," Quan this time had peered up from his sketching. He craned his head slightly before asking, "And…you liked Celsius better with the old members?"

Dracul this time scoffed, "Hell yeah, I do! No offense to Emerald Mantis, but he doesn't have much stage presence like Jade Elephant! Just because they both wear glasses and are the tallest members of their group doesn't mean they're the same! Jade Elephant also had a _wicked _singing voice!"

"_Wicked_?" Quan leaned back as he arched an eyebrow. "How good?"

"Well, I'm honestly surprised that he hasn't had a solo career after he left the group," admitted Dracul. "I would've _definitely _bought an album of his if he stayed single!" he heaved a sad sigh. "Maybe he wanted a break from the music business? I dunno, but…it's a real shame he quit…same with his band-mate. I don't really like Golden Dragon that much."

"_Jade Elephant_?" Eduard couldn't help but give an interested smile. "So they're named after a precious stone and animal, right?"

"That pretty much seems like the charm of it," noted Quan.

"Yeah," Dracul nodded. "Golden Dragon, Emerald Mantis, Diamond Crane and Tourmaline Bear are who are in the current Celsius as of yet. Previous members were Jade Elephant and Golden Ti—"

"Hey, dudes! What's up?!" all of a sudden, one Alfred F Jones burst into the stylist practical classroom and grinned widely as he boomed, "Yo, Eddy! How you doing?"

"A-Alfred!" Eduard looked highly astonished at seeing the American composer enter. "What on earth are you doing here?"

"Speak of the devil, what are you _all _doing here?" Quan asked in amusement as he spotted Madeleine, Emil and Karina come rushing inside, too. It appeared as though they were left behind by Alfred's sprinting, and had tried to catch up to the athletic America.

They were certainly getting close; that was definitely accounted for. Quan himself felt himself draw a little closer to Eduard and Dracul in his stylist's course. He was surprised himself, really - it usually took him much longer than now to make friends; he usually was accustomed to being alone or at least not know how to associate with people his own age. However, it became less nerve-wracking talking to the both of them, and things seemed to just go with the flow quite well. Of course, it helped that Dracul was great with carrying on a conversation without trying to make someone feel uncomfortable, and Eduard himself also had a good amount of trying (and succeeding) with understanding how he worked as well.

And finally, there was Rosaliese.

Quan couldn't help but feel his cheeks take on a bit of heat whenever he thought of that Austrian lady. Not a girl, to him she was a full-fledged _lady_.

A woman.

She wasn't a foolish, giggly and giddy little girl who would follow the crowd with their stupid trends and wear something _so _skimpy to try and look mature that it made them appear utterly foolish in the process. Nor was she one to lose her temper over something so trivial, either.

No, she was a woman – a mature, calm and composed young woman who knew how to stand up and speak for herself, keep an intelligent conversation going, and who also had her own style, and wasn't afraid to show it to the world despite some jealous worms' words of mockery. Old-fashioned she was, Quan admitted, but it made her all the more intriguing and the style just suited her so well. It was a bit anachronistic, however to him, he found it quite appealing and she pulled it off so well, what with her elegant steps, poised posture and sophisticated mannerisms.

It helped that she was beautiful, too.

Rosaliese didn't seem to mind his company at all; in fact, much to his surprise, she had said a few times after giving a small sigh that it was peaceful and soothing to have company that was quite enjoyable.

His face almost exploded from hearing that compliment.

He honestly thought of himself a bit too plain and simple for someone like her – he never tried when it came to his appearance, and he didn't find himself particularly attractive or worthy enough, either. To him, it was like a farm-hand sitting with an heiress – it simply didn't fit.

Still, he loved her company, and he definitely didn't want the times he spoke to her during study periods on Tuesdays and Thursdays to stop. Speaking of which, after this early practical lesson this Thursday morning, it was time for a study period before lunch.

Time to see her again.

"Quan…are you okay?"

It took the Vietnamese boy to realize that Madeleine had poked his shoulder and called his name for a bit. Blinking, he shook his head before gazing up, "S-sorry…" he apologized a bit sheepishly. "Is there something wrong, Madeleine?"

His Canadian composer smiled sincerely as she nodded at his drawing, "It's looking really nice so far. You're quite talented."

"Ah," Quan couldn't help but feel his lips twitch upward. "Thank you very much."

His composer tended to also make him feel at ease and calm down, too. Madeleine was quite shy – sometimes stuttering, but Quan was pleasantly surprised to see that she seemed more relaxed and eager to talk around him. Which was good, considering that he himself really wasn't much of a talker. Strangely though, he found that he didn't mind talking to her or answering any question she had.

It helped that she didn't dive into his deeper waters.

Funny enough, Antonio as well didn't seem to want to go into _too _personal details about him, either. Ever since that first day that Quan felt the guilt claw at his stomach for treating the green-eyed idol _too _harshly, he tried to put some effort. However, it _was _quite hard for him – he was never good at talking, and Antonio seemed far too bright and outgoing: sometimes almost overwhelming him with how cheerfully he spoke to him, and how fast he tended to yammer on with segments of Spanish placed into the mix.

Though the Spaniard irritated him at times, Quan was definitely more tolerant towards him. And he could definitely say for sure that he didn't hate him and find him a detestable arrogant piece of garbage that he expected most idols to turn out as.

No, despite how talkative and forward Antonio was, the Vietnamese student found that he could not hate him at all – the green-eyed brunette seemed to just be able to want to be everyone's friend as he was always so nice, warm and open: he'd practically open his arms out for you to give you a hug if it weren't for the fact that he himself was getting stressed out from the piles of theory and homework that stacked up to him.

It was an amusing sight, but Quan couldn't help but feel sorry for Antonio when he whimpered upon how many sheets he had to fill out, as well as the number of texts he had to read and revise.

Being an idol was definitely no picnic.

"It looks a bit like Antonio," mused Madeleine as she tilted her head slightly.

"It's supposed to look like his body shape," replied Quan. "After all – I _am _designing clothes for him and not somebody else, aren't I?"

The pig-tailed blonde gave a little giggle, "That's true. I can't wait to see the finished product. What were you guys talking about, anyway?"

"Celsius!" Dracul was grinning widely.

"The boy band, right?" Karina's sea blue eyes were sparkling. "They're quite talented!"

"I prefer the old Celsius, though," noted Emil as he gave a slight sniff. "They seemed more in sync and better than the new one."

"Oh God! Finally! Finally!" Dracul looked absolutely ecstatic as he hopped over to his Icelandic composer. "Somebody else agrees with me!" he wrapped an arm around his shoulders and ruffled his hair.

"H-hey!" the silver-haired youth growled. "Quit that!"

"You're all in a study period, are you not?" inquired Eduard. "I thought you all said you were going to the library to study some more on your music theory."

Alfred gave a sheepish laugh while Karina clasped her hands together at her front while Madeleine and Emil both blushed embarrassedly a bit. Still, Alfred spoke up for them, "Well, Eddy, we _were_ studying for a bit – we were reading up stuff on what makes a proper composition, and Maddie was helping Emil with some crap on notes and that, then I realized that Karina was watching a video on her iPhone."

"What kind of video would that be?"

"A Pure-F music video!" grinned Alfred; his pearly whites practically glinting. "Love Song! We all ended up watching it and so…" here, he gave his sheepish chuckle again.

"What Pure-F song was this one?" questioned Quan, though it appeared that he was questioning more out of politeness rather than interest. He seemed a bit bored in regards to that idol.

"Love Song," said Madeleine looking quite happy. Quan couldn't help but give a soft rumble in his throat that was recognized as how he tended to express his amusement. It was interesting to see the Canadian girl so enthusiastic and flustered considering how shy and withdrawn she usually was.

"I've never actually see that one," said Dracul. "You got it?"

"H-here you go," Karina gave a weak smile as she timidly brought out her iPhone. Sliding it open after tapping in the passcode, the video seemed to have ended, so sliding back the dial, she placed it down on the desk for everyone to see.

Quan darted his golden eyes over as the music video started to play. It began with what appeared to be a young man around his age with messy pale hair that also appeared slightly spiky at the tips. There was what appeared to be a little rattail braid that fell at the right side of his face, and there was a beauty mark on his right eyelid. He stood up to the centre stage of what appeared to be a karaoke bar as he smoothened out his white tuxedo while the music began to play. Noticeably, his eyes were shut the whole time as he took the mike.

The music was consisted of a droning techno rub while a simple, muted drumbeat was heard in the background. Soft violins were whizzing at the background, and it was six seconds in before the music gave a slight pause for Pure-F to start.

"It's been said and done," the male idol's strong voice was noticeably much softer in this song, or at least in this first verse. "Every beautiful thought's been already sung, and I guess right now is another one. So your melody will play on and on, with the best of them…" He slowly opened his eyes, revealing a pair of shining, gleaming honey orbs as he gave a secretive smile to the camera as it came for a close-up shot.

Next, the camera panned out to a television screen beside him; zooming in, it revealed Pure-F in the role of a carpenter as he created a curvy lady's figure out of the large amount of clay. He continued with the romantic tune from there, "You are beautiful like a dream come alive; incredible." It showed a few fade-ins and out's where he was painting the completed sculpture, revealing a beautiful young woman. "A sinful, miracle, lyrical…" the next shot showed the statue of the woman very much alive, and the two of them were holding hands on the beach and going around. "You saved my life again…and I want you to know, baby."

Alfred, Karina and Madeleine were already starting to follow with the melody – the American composer belting out with the bespectacled Canadian sounding much softer, while the Latvian girl was swaying her head, "I, I love you like a love song, baby. I, I love you like a love song, baby."

This time, Pure-F appeared to be a DJ with a station as he began rubbing and moving his hands swiftly along the tracks. He smiled as he swayed his own head – one hand now moving up to his headphones, "I, I love you like a love song, baby. And I keep hitting repeat-peat-peat-peat-peat-peat." Upon every time he repeated the _'peat'_, he would scratch at the disk as the part seemed to replay itself.

The camera instantly shifted this time to a diner that appeared to be set in the 70's where Pure-F was wearing what appeared to be a greaser's jacket. A girl with large glasses and a poofy hairstyle approached him, and the two left hand-in-hand. "I, I love you like a love song, baby. I, I love you like a love song, baby. I, I love you like a love song, baby." DJ Pure-F came back on and scratched at the disks upon the last six syllables, "And I keep hitting repeat-peat-peat-peat-peat-peat!"

"Constantly, oh you play through my mind like a symphony," the new setting this time appeared to be from the Victorian era judging from the cravat that Pure-F was wearing this time. He was in a garden holding a white rose when a young maiden wearing ragged clothing cleaned. As Pure-F continued with the melody, he smiled warmly – honey eyes twinkling in the young lady's direction, "There's no way to describe what you do to me. You just do to me, what you do and it feels like I've been rescued." After a shot shows him offering the rose to her, it shifted to him playing the piano with the cleaning girl sitting beside him. The violins in the music began to become more prominent than the techno wave. "I've been set free. I am hypnotized by your destiny. You are magical, lyrical, beautiful, you are…and I want you to know, baby!"

This time, the camera shifts to the original Pure-F who was at the centre stage of a karaoke bar. He was smiling warmly as he continued, "I, I love you like a love song, baby. I, I love you like a love song, baby. I, I love you like a love song, baby…" the camera shots shifted to DJ Pure-F scratching on the disks again. "I, I love you like a love song, baby. I, I love you like a love song, baby. I, I love you like a love song, baby, and I keep hitting repeat-peat-peat-peat-peat-peat."

Dracul mimicked his movements, causing Emil to give a loud _'pfft!'_ as he tried to stifle his chuckle. Nobody seemed aware of his reaction except for Eduard and Quan. Alfred, Karina and Madeleine seemed too engrossed by Pure-F.

The video's camera shifted to the greaser Pure-F who was now riding a motorcycle with the girl with the funny hairstyle hugging him from behind. Pure-F's face was visible from behind the visor, "I, I love you like a love song, baby."

"Love song, baby," the greaser Pure-F murmured while the original continued.

The original Pure-F in the karaoke bar closed his eyes a bit as his voice grew a little stronger, "I, I love you like a love song, baby."

"Love song, baby," this time, the artist Pure-F with his alive statue spoke up with a loving expression on his face.

Moving his hand in a somewhat sweeping manner, original Pure-F continued, "I, I love you like a love song, baby…"

The camera shifted shots to the Victorian Pure-F who this time lay his head against the cleaning girl's head as she lay on his shoulder. He was still playing the piano, "I love you, oh I love you."

The original Pure-F tapped his finger a few times as he sang the last couple of syllables, "And I keep hitting repeat-peat-peat-peat-peat-peat!"

And yet another scene is seen – this time, clad in what appeared to be a _sarashi _with a darkly-coloured kimono that was opened to show his torso. Holding his sword, the Pure-F here wandered to a tree with what appeared to be a large, golden fruit. "No-one compares; you stand alone to every record I own." Coming closer to the fruit, he gazed up as he murmured, "Music to my heart, that's what you are…" he drew out his sword as a small beeping sound was heard.

All of a sudden, his voice became _much _stronger as he declared loudly, "A song that goes on and on!" and with that, he brought his sword forward and slashed the golden fruit in half while unleashing an impressive note for quite a while – releasing a huge spark of what appeared to be fireworks and flower petals that flew in every direction like celebratory confetti. The techno beat came back on as the final chorus was approached.

"I, I love you like a love song, baby," Alfred and Madeleine were _really _getting into it. It was an amusing sight to behold, and even Eduard seemed to like the song himself as he swayed his head. "I, I love you like a love song, baby. I, I love you like a love song baby, and I keep hitting repeat-peat-peat-peat-peat-peat." By this time, Quan also joined Dracul in doing mock DJ scratch and spins at that part again.

Emil chuckled as this time, quick shots focused on many of the personas that Pure-F acted as in the screen: artist with his statue that came to life, greaser taking his girlfriend out for a ride on his motorcycle, Victorian era upperclassman serenading a young maid girl, DJ who was having fun alone, and the samurai warrior who unleashed a splash of colour in a greying world. "I, I love you like a love song, baby. I, I love you like a love song, baby, and I keep hitting repeat-peat-peat-peat-peat-peat!"

"I love you like a love song…" the music video ended back at centre stage of the karaoke bar with Pure-F gazing intently at the audience; his honey eyes now cool pools. His face broke into a grin as the audience applauded his performance, and he was thanked before taking his seat.

"I can't get over the scratching," Dracul remarked as he made a funny squeak-like noise as he imitated a DJ's scratching with the records.

"Being a DJ's cool, bro!" Alfred agreed with a thumbs-up.

"Still, Pure-F is quite talented, don't you think?" Karina gave a small, fond smile. "He's very, _very_ good."

"Sounds like you've got a little crush on him there," Dracul teased as he beamed prominent canines at the sandy-haired composer student. "Wanna go out with a date on that guy, huh?"

Karina's face instantly reddened as she squeaked, "A-a _date_…?! With _Pure-F_?! N-no way!"

"Why not?" Quan inquired as he arched an eyebrow.

"W-well…" Karina shuffled nervously in her spot. "Pure-F is just so…" she shook her head and placed her hands on her cheeks as they seemed to turn ever redder than before. "He'd never be interested in someone like me…"

"Aww, come on, dudette!" Alfred groaned. "Don't just throw yourself down like that!"

Madeleine agreed, "Pure-F is a celebrity – I don't think he'd be interested with all of the little people."

"Besides," Dracul spoke up. "I thought he was going out with Lianhua."

Hearing that, Emil immediately perked up, "Wait, wait! Hold on…they're really going out?"

Alfred guffawed, "Awww, look at that! Emil's gotten so interested! But, yeah – I've heard of that. But I'm pretty sure it's only a rumour, dude. I don't think they're dating."

* * *

"_¡__Ay Dios mio_!" Antonio almost cried in frustration as he slumped his head down in his arms. He was _seriously _close to collapsing – there were just too many passages and books and notes and words and…

Needless to say, his head was _close _to splitting wide open.

However, seeing that his stylist had far more work than he did, the Spaniard wondered on just _how _he could even manage to do all of it as well as keep his sanity intact.

"_Mon ami_, is everything alright?" Francis questioned worriedly at his tanned friend's reaction.

"_Ja_, Toni – you seem so stressed out, and we haven't even reached our first assessment yet!" agreed Gilbert, scowling in concern at the green-eyed brunette.

Antonio heaved a heavy sigh, "_Lo siento mucho_, _mis amigos_…but I'm really starting to feel all of these notes weighing me down…" he blew some hair that was in his eyes before resting his head on his arms. "So much stuff…"

"Well, you want to be an idol, _non_?" Francis inquired as he arched an elegant eyebrow. "And you are not alone, either! There is Gilbert and me, as well as your stylist and your composer! We are there to help and support you – especially when things are becoming extremely rough!"

"We need to support each other, anyway," Gilbert simply nodded as he leaned back on his seat and peered into the textbook he was holding. "I heard a lot of shit about the first major test, and it's tough for this batch this year…"

"_¿¡__Qué__!?_ But _why_?!" Antonio gave a whine.

The albino Prussia shrugged, "Something about wanting real _quality _was what I heard. Ain't sure about what it is, though. But I heard it's a collaborative thing."

"Collaborative?" the Spaniard perked up. Hearing that word made him smile, "Ah, that makes things _much _better."

It had been quite a little while since he and Quan had gotten on the wrong side of the foot and the latter had less than favourable opinions on him it seemed, but now the Asian composer was starting to break down his cold barriers as he didn't speak in a frosty tone at him before, and actually seemed more willing to listen to him talk (though Antonio admitted that sometimes he tended to run his mouth off a bit too much at times). Sure, Quan was still quiet and seemed less than willing to speak, however he never pushed him away, and even during morning, lunch and the afternoon, the raven-haired Viet would wait for the Spaniard and Madeleine before they walked just a little bit and departed ways or hung out together.

Really, the Asian just needed a push and some persistence - he really _was _just shy it appeared, and he didn't know how to handle people. However, Antonio found out that it was a _big _no-no to try and pry into his business or on _deeply _personal matters as the Vietnamese stylist bit him in a cold and acidic tone when he tried to question him about his home life or his family life. Whereas Madeleine grew extremely comfortable when she was used to your presence, and you were sincere with her.

Well, then again, Quan seemed to work similarly – he was just more cautious and skeptical.

Of course, with Quan shutting him out of such areas, it only made the Spaniard the more curious. However, he knew as well that Quan needed his space and that he would come around and speak whenever he felt like it. He had seen the golden-eyed Viet talk to Madeleine a number of times as well as Gilbert's female stylist.

What was surprising, though, was that Quan seemed to highly enjoy himself with that girl, and even that girl herself seemed happy in his company.

Something churned unpleasantly in Antonio's belly – he wasn't sure what it was; maybe it was because his stylist was actually socially improving with other people except his own idol, but then again, Quan didn't seem to show his interest or keenness for being open when it came to idols in general.

'_There's still so much I don't know about him!' _Antonio pondered as he tilted his head and peered up at the library's chandelier ceiling. Still, Quan was probably going to reveal to him everything in all due time since even Madeleine didn't seem to know him that much, either. She just left it as Quan being Quan and that he would speak when he wanted. _'All I can do is just continue to show support and be a friend.' _Glancing down at his stack of textbooks and notes, he heaved another sigh before his hand clenched into a fist, _'Well, one thing's for certain – if he can do more of this stuff than me and be fine with it, then I can do it and be fine with it, too!'_

Much to Francis' and Gilbert's collective surprise, their brunette friend didn't complain as much for the rest of the study period.

He just continued reading.

* * *

**End of Chapter 7! :)**

**Special/s:  
- sarashi = a long strip of cloth, usually thick cotton, wrapped tightly around the midriff up to the chest. Like bandages under a kimono or hakama.**

**Next chapter: more time passes by and Quan realizes he's starting to bear feelings towards a certain Austrian lady; meanwhile, Antonio is starting to get the hang of studying and is determined to be a successful idol; Madeleine and Emil learn of the first collaborative assignment from Mrs Kirkland.**

**Peace out!  
- Hebi-Kazechi-10**


End file.
